Child of the Moon
by IMMA BRICK HOUSE
Summary: Even at the young age of 11, Remus Lupin knows society will never truly accept him. But when a kindly proffesor offers him an education, Remus discovers that there are people who can look past wizard predjudices to judge him for who he really is.
1. An Uncertain Begining

**AN: Hello my dears! YAYY I've started a new story! :D I've decided to try and improve on my writing and try to write a full-fledged story. So here's the benining! YAYY!  
And who else could it be about but my two favorite HP characters- Remus and Sirius! XD  
I'm going to try and have a chapter up every week or every other week, depending on how busy mah life is at the moment. (And it's very busy, I will tell you!)  
Happy (early) birthday to chocolatesnipe! We are birthday buddies! :D (my birthday is tommorw as well!)  
Hope everyone will find this interesting, and if you do, please give me some feedback, comments, questions, or concerns. :3  
There's still a want add out there for a beta- if anybody's interested pleeaasee PM me or talk to me in a review!  
Well, that's all I really needed to say. This is going to be eventual Remus/Sirius, but that's a LOOOOONG way down the road. YAY!  
Lurves,  
Alex  
XOXOXOXOXO**

* * *

**An Uncertain Begining**

"Mum..." the terrified whisper of an eleven year-old boy pierced the silence of the Lupin's small kitchen.

"Mummy, I... I don't want to go." Remus Lupin pleaded his mother pitifully, golden eyes swimming with tears. His fork clattered down onto the table, large breakfast completely untouched and growing cold. Lip quivering and body shaking, the boy stood up and ran to his mother, burying his face in the soft cotton of her muggle tee-shirt. Selena Lupin stroked her sons tawny hair and rested her chin on top of his head, the child's tiny whimpers muffled by her shoulder.

"Darling, you have to. What are you so afraid of? I'm sure it's going to be lovely!" she said soothingly, trying to comfort her only son and ease his fears. Remus pulled his face out of his mothers shirt, unusually sharp teeth gnawing on an already chapped bottom lip. Selena slipped a finger under her sons pointed little chin, gently tilting his face up so she could look him in the eyes.

"Remus, what's so bad about going to Hogwarts? I thought it was what you always wanted. And Professor Dumbledore has been so kind to you- you wouldn't want to disappoint him, would you?" Remus's thin shoulders jerk up and down in a shrug.

"No, but... But what happens if the other children find out... what I am? They'll kick me out and they'll hate me and I won't ever have a job, and... and... And..." Selena cuts off Remus's panicked stammering with a kiss to the boys forehead.

"Love, Shh. People won't judge you just because you're a werewolf. If you find true friends, they won't care what you are- they'll care about what's in here!" With her last words, she poked Remus in the stomach, causing the boy to giggle slightly and seem more relaxed.

"Now come, your fathers waiting in the car. I'll just clean up breakfast- you go and wait with him, alright?" Remus nods, and Selena watched her sons tiny figure scamper out the door and outside into the cold, grey, September day that greeted him on his first day of school. Her heart heavy with fear and anticipation, she began to clear away their breakfast dishes, frowning at Remus's untouched food. Her son was so good, so sweet, so... Innocent. She hoped that she and John were doing the right thing by sending him to Hogwarts. What if children did find out? What if her gentle child was ridiculed and cursed at and spat at? What if Remus's biggest fear came true? He'd never really been around children- he'd been bitten at the tender age of only four, and had never grown up being able to interact normally with people besides Selena, her husband, and the healers they'd see at St. Mungo's when Remus injured himself too gravely for John to heal during his monthly transformations. What if she sent him out into the world, naive like he was, and he came back completely unrecognizable and full of hatred for what he was and the restrictions placed upon his kind?

Selena shook her head to clear it. 'That would NOT happen with Remus.' she told herself. Her boy was much too sweet-natured and gentle to ever turn against himself or his family. Still... She dropped a dish into the sink and absentmindedly flicked her wand at it, letting it wash and clean itself in midair while she rummaged through drawers to find an enormous bar of chocolate that she and John had scrimped and saved for in order to give Remus a treat on his big day. A thin prickle of fear ran down her spine as she stared at the chocolate, remembering how many times she'd mixed it into warm milk or melted it into gooey squares to feed to Remus right after he'd transformed and was simply too ill or too miserable for anything else. What could she do for him when he was going to be away and transforming at Hogwarts, under someone else's care? Would they know that he liked a hot bath a couple of hours before the change? Or that he needed to have his neck and back massaged before the transformation, because they'd start to cramp up and have him be in agonizing pain? Was that what a mother was supposed to do to their child? Send them away and not even be able to comfort them when they needed them most?

"Stop that!" she told herself angrily out loud, slamming the kitchen drawer with a loud crack that echoed through the silent house. "

You're letting him get an education!" she muttered out loud, grabbing her heavy traveling cloak from the Lupin's ancient coatrack.

"If you kept him here forever, he'd never forgive you. You've seen how much he wants to be educated- how could you deny him that?" She opens the door and shuts it behind her, instantly bottling up her feelings inside of her and wiping her face to a smiling mask for her son. If he saw how anxious she was, it would send him over the edge into complete and utter panic. He was terrified enough as it was- he didn't need to see his mother warring whether to let him go or keep him home. Bur what was the better option? Let him go, but risk exposure, discovery, and the breaking of her little boy's heart, or let him stay home, but risk boredom, resentment, and him hating her for never letting him out into the world?

She'd reached the Lupin's old, clanky car by now, and she walked around the car to the passenger side and opened the door, sliding in and giving her husband a quick kiss on the cheek. John smiled reassuringly at her, silently jerking his head back to the backseat where Remus had his whole body bent over a book, wide eyes regarding the words with the rapt fascination that Remus regarded everything with. Selena's mind then completely erased every doubt she'd ever had about letting Remus go off to Hogwarts. How could she have a doubt, when that sweet little face looked up from the book and gave her a delighted smile, holding up the thick volume so she could see the title.

"Hogwarts: A History, mum! Father just gave it to me! Isn't it fascinating?" his eager eyes peered at her, wide with excitement, and he looked so different from the terrified boy of ten minutes ago. Her Remus had had to grow up so early, and she was glad that he'd now have a chance to be a child and be around children his own age. She hoped with all her heart that he'd find good friends, friends that could be trusted and counted on, no matter what. Friends that would perhaps except his... differences.

With a much lighter heart, Selena turned around as her husband put the car in drive and headed out off the small driveway in front of their house. The Lupin's stated the drive in comfortable silence, each counting up the minutes where they'd reach London and it'd be time to find Platform 9 3/4.

* * *

All Remus's confidence and good spirits in the car ride before had vanished as soon as the Lupin's entered the enormous London train station. He clung to his mothers hand, heart thudding frantically in his thin chest, eyes flicking around like an animal caught in a trap. He'd never seen so many people before, and it was overwhelming.

In one hand he clutched Hogwarts: A History, fingers clamped so tightly around the book that he felt the spine start to snap. He let go with a sharp sigh, wishing, not for the first time, that he didn't have the freakish strength that came with the werewolf curse. What kind of eleven-year old is able to pick up a fully grown man or hold a book so tightly the binding starts to snap under pressure?

He tucked the book into the crook of his elbow, nervously flattening his hair over his ears, which were pointed at the tips like a goblins or a... He refused to even think the word. that part of him was NOT going to ruin an important event like this in his life, an event that nearly never took place, thanks to a four-year olds innocent curiosity seven years ago on the night of a full moon.

Selena noticed her sons fidgeting and laid a soothing hand on his shoulder, which caused Remus to intense his body a tiny bit. He obediently followed after his mother, keeping his head tilted downward so no one would look into his face and notice "Hey. There's something not right about that kid." He prayed no one would. That would be just his luck. To have his dreams shattered before he even got to Hogwarts. His father, who had been leading the way and pushing Remus's battered and ancient-looking school trunk, suddenly stopped short right in front of a brick wall. Remus glanced up at the wall and saw a plaque reading "Platform 9" affixed to it's side.

He quizzically tilted his head, wondering what his father was going to do. They had just past Platform 10- it didn't look like there was any Platform 9 3/4. His breathing started to speed up. What were they going to have to do? What if they had to pass a test? He didn't know anything! Anxiously, he nearly ripped open Hogwarts: A History and started furiously scanning the pages for anything that might help for a test. He looked back up to find his father, but saw empty space where his father and mother used to be. They had passed the test and he hadn't! He was never going to go to Hogwarts! Eyes huge with panic, he swung around to see if they were behind him. No Selena or John. Even his trunk was gone!

When he realized he was completely, utterly alone at King's Cross, without any knowledge of the place and surrounded by muggles, the reality started to set in. His mother and father were gone. He had no idea where he was, and no idea how to get home. With a half-sob of fear, he slid down the wall to bury his face in his knees, only to slide right through the wall! With a cursed wolf-like yelp of surprise that quickly made him cover his mouth with his hand, he sat up and looked around.

He was in a completely different train station now. A glossy scarlet train was stopped on the tracks, smoke puffing out of it's smokestack, windows shining, brass trimmings gleaming in the light of the street-lamps that hung over the station. Wizards of all shapes and sizes wearing all different colors and styles of robes were running everywhere, some with the flustered look of a harried parent, others that looked only a couple of years older than Remus himself. Remus gazed around in wonder, taking in the cages holding hooting owls and spitting cats and trunks packed to bursting with amazement, briefly forgetting his terror of moments ago. Platform 9 3/4 was everything he always imagined it to be.

A hand coming down on his shoulder caused him to jerk out of his wonder-filled trance and flip around, a low snarl ripping it's way out of his chest. With a tiny squeak of mortification he found himself facing his mother, who was glancing around nervously to make sure no one had heard him. Remus's golden eyes narrowed in anger.

"You left me!" he hissed, but went up to his mother and hugged her anyway, letting out a shaky breath now knowing he hadn't been forgotten. He felt Selena laugh against him, and he pulled back to glare at her accusingly. Seeing her sons serious face, Selena stopped laughing and made a silly face at the boy.

"Love, I'm so sorry! I forgot to tell you we had to walk through the wall. Are you alright?" Remus let out an indignant huff. "Now." he said sourly, but quickly shook off his bad attitude. He was so unused to being angry or snippy at someone that it felt wrong. Selena smiled at her son and beckoned to him to follow her with one finger. Remus followed, and she nimbly lead him through the throngs of wizarding families to John Lupin. Remus's trunk was no where in sight, and he figured that his father must have just put it on the train already. John knelt down to his sons height and placed an arm around his slender shoulders, staring into Remus's eyes. Remus felt a pang of homesickness already as he stared into his fathers tanned face, surrounded by sandy hair with deepest blue eyes. He was going to miss his parents. Should he go to Hogwarts? Was he doing the right thing? Before he could think of more anxieties, his father started to speak.

"Remus, I'm so proud of you. You're going to do fine." his mother then knelt down to, her brown eyes trained on Remus's face.

"Dearest, if you ever need us, send and owl. If you ever feel like you need to come home, Professor Dumbledore told me that you can just ask him, and he'll let you Floo. If anything happens, tell him immediately, alright?" Remus nodded, and Selena's eyes filled up with happy tears. She pulled him into a hug and kissed his hair.

"My big, brave lad..." she trailed off happily, pulling away and letting John Lupin kiss his sons forehead. Both of Remus's parents stood up, and Selena gave Remus a gentle push towards the train.

"Go on love. We'll wave goodbye." His father told him, offering him a reassuring smile. Remus uncertainly made his way over to the intimidating scarlet train and stepped up the black stairs, poking his head inside the train. It was nearly deserted- he figured mist students were probably saying last minute goodbyes to their families. He took careful, measured steps down the plush-carpeted hallway, pausing when he found a deserted compartment.

He slid open the gilded gold doors and found himself in a cozy little compartment with two bench seats that faced each other on either side of the window, with a metal rack above the window. He placed his book on one of the seats next to the window, along with his paper-bag with his lunch in it and his coat, which Selena had lovingly darned multiple times in an effort to make it look new again. He slid open the wavy window with ease and poked his head out, smiling when he saw his parents a little bit down aways, waving cheerily at him. He waved back, and his mother blew a kiss to him. With a tiny smile of happiness, Remus shut the window and sat down on the plush seat, running his hand over the luxurious velvet-feeling material. It was very nice, much nicer than anything the Lupin's every owned.

When he thought of his house, Remus felt a prickle of shame and self-loathing. His parents had once been prestigious ministry workers, and they had had a decent amount of money. Then he had to go and get bitten by Fenrir Greyback, and completely ruin their lives. Every spare penny had been spent on treatments, most of which were excruciatingly painful and expensive, and all of which simply didn't work. Now they had to save all their money simply to pay bills and make do with basic necessities. Remus did feel slightly relieved, though. With him at Hogwarts, his parents no longer had to worry about bandages and medicine and sleeping draughts every month, nor the awful St. Mungo's visits that left Selena in tears and Remus with horrible feelings of guilt and hatred for himself. They would be able to save money and maybe buy things for themselves.

"That's one good thing about me going..." he said quietly, stopping his feeling of the seat cover and reaching into his pocket to pull out his wand. Ten and a half inches long, slender, made of birch wood with a unicorn tail in the core. It was light and practically weightless in Remus's hand, and he felt like a true wizard when he had one, not just like a scrawny eleven-year old werewolf pretending to be a wizard. That was the best thing about being able to go to Hogwarts. Remus was able to get a wand. A _wand_. Mr. Ollivander had told Remus that practically no werewolves were allowed to get wands because the ministry didn't consider them "people", and therefore it wasn't proper for them to be able to use things that normal people were able to use. But Albus Dumbledore had pulled a few strings, and here was Remus, the fifth werewolf in history to have a wand, and the first werewolf in history to be allowed to attend Hogwarts.

A deliciously warm feeling spread from his head to his toes when he thought about Hogwarts, a feeling that couldn't even be damped by his gnawing fear that someone would discover his secret or that he would have not friends. He would be able to study and go to classes, something he'd always dreamed about. He'd be able to read as many books as he'd like, and practice spells and learn about Hogwarts. He was interrupted from his little reverie by angry shouts from the corridor and thumbs that sounded like someone was kicking the doors. Cautiously, he got up and poked his head out of his compartment's doors, glancing down the hallway to see what the commotion was.

A boy about three inches taller than Remus stood with his back to Remus, hands on his hips, shoulder to shoulder with an even taller boy with unruly dark hair, both of them glaring at another boy, a pudgy blonde kid who looked to be just a little taller than Remus who was cowering against the wall. Remus huffed to himself angrily. Sodding werewolf curse caused him to be tiny and skinny for his age, and probably for his whole life. He had to be one of the smallest kids on the entire train. Anxiously, he pulled at his sleeve in an effort to ensure that all the vicious scratches that marred his body were covered in case any of the other children were to turn around and catch him off guard. He went to take a step outside the compartment to get a closer look at the other boys and maybe try to see how to make friends when the train gave a lurch, sending Remus sprawling into the hallway, where he smacked into the wall and fell over, making a face as the movement irritated week old wounds that hadn't healed completely.

The boy Remus had first seen turned around to see what the commotion was. He was dressed in a near buttoned up dress shirt that he had unbuttoned and rolled up the sleeves too, neat muggle jeans, and shiny shoes. His hair, which was jet black and shiny, hung to the nape of his neck, some was pushed casually away from his face, and it curled around his ears. It was his eyes that struck Remus as unusual. They were a stormy grey color, like the sky before a thunderstorm, and they flashed and danced and sparkled in the light. His lips stretched into a broad smile, revealing even, perfectly white teeth as he stepped forward and grabbed Remus by the shoulder, pulling him to his feet and dusting off his shirt.

"There you are, mate. You okay?" the boy asked, looking concerned about Remus. Remus just nodded, wide-eyed, as the boy stuck out his hand.

"I'm Sirius." he said cheerily, and Remus nervously stretched out his hand to place it in Sirius's who shook it eagerly.

"I'm... Remus." he said shyly, casting his gaze downward back to his feet.

'This isn't so hard!' his brain triumphantly told itself. 'Look! You're talking to another boy. You've made a friend.'


	2. Enter to Hogwarts

**AN: Hullo guys! Lordy, it's an update! :D Hope you all enjoy, please review, and have a great weekend!  
Thanks to puddingflaun and BeautyIsOverRated for reviewing! It's great to get comments and feedback :)  
LOve,  
Alex  
XOXOXOXO**

* * *

**Enter To Hogwarts**

Remus smiled hesitantly, eyes flicking over to the messy-haired boy who'd turned around with one final sneer at the chubby boy, pushing glasses up a thin nose. He stepped over next to Sirius, hazel eyes peering curiously down at Remus, one arm resting on Sirius's shoulders. 'I wonder...' Remus thought curiously, looking at the comfortable way they interacted with each other. 'Have they been friends for a while, or did they just meet today?' The tall boy stuck out his hand after a minute of silence, a broad smile on his face.

"I'm James. James Potter. You are..." James trailed off, looking expectantly at Remus, who shuffled his feet and gave James a tiny little smile.

"I'm Remus." he said quietly, and Sirius gave him a cheerful grin. "Where are you at, mate? Mind if we join you?" Remus shook his head, wide-eyed, but on the inside he was nearly dancing for joy. He was making friends! Selena was right- this would be the best time of his life. He turned abruptly on his heel and waved his hand for the other two boys to follow him, opening the heavy door to his private little compartment. Sirius lugged his bag into Remus's little space, James close on his heels. He flopped down onto the seat across from where Remus was sitting, stretching out and gazing at Remus and James lazily, an easy smile on his face. Remus felt his own lips tilt up as well, caught up in the infectiousness of Sirius's easy-going nature. Sirius was a person the Remus hoped that he could befriend. He seemed so nice and happy, and judging by the way he had reacted to Remus before, pretty kind and protective towards others. Remus sat down in the seat he had occupied before, pulling his knees up to his chest to give James more room

to sit next to him, eyes flashing warily to Sirius and James, checking to see if either of the boys had noticed how his sleeves rode up slightly and revealed a tiny, slender wrist, crisscrossing with a spider-web pattern of silver scars. He sucked in a deep, calming breath and gazed out the window for a moment, completely forgetting Sirius and James as he became lost in his own thoughts. Could he trust these two boys to become his friends? Were they trustworthy and loyal and steadfast and able to keep secrets? Remus, no matter how many times his mother reassured him that true friends wouldn't judge him simply because he was a werewolf, could not seem to shake off the insecurities that he'd been brought up with. He remembered how his parents parents had stopped calling and ceased having any communication with the Lupin's after they'd found out Remus had been bitten- he remembered a screaming match through the Floo with one of his fathers sisters, remembered his mother crying over letters from her siblings, letters filled with hate and the words "Get rid of that thing!" written over and over again. Would his friends (if he'd even make any) drop him as quickly as he parents own flesh and blood had?

"So what house do you expect to get in?" Sirius asked Remus curiously, peering at him with those intense, unnervingly serious (**AN: he he SIRIUS**!) eyes, so out of place on his happy face and seemingly happy-go-lucky demeanor.

Remus frowned, going over the houses in his head. There was Hufflepuff, which, from all the books he'd read and his parents descriptions of the house, had seemed pretty pathetic. Aside from his immediate dislike of the house, who had ever heard of a werewolf in Hufflepuff? It would be like calling a snake a ribbon- it was something dangerous and highly ridiculous. A dark creature would never be put into the sappiest and most gentle house. There was also Slytherin, which Remus hoped fervently with all his heart that he wouldn't be placed into. There wasn't a witch or wizard who'd ever been in Slytherin that hadn't had something off or unsettling about them, and he had thought that the students there would be too cunning and be able to figure out his lycanthropy in a matter of months. They were too sly, and too quick to distrust, and many of them would have come from dark families, which were known for their knowledge of all things, well, dark. There was Ravenclaw, but again, the students would be too smart for their own good, and be able to figure out his secret as well, in only a matter of months. Gryffindor seemed to be the house for him- it was the house of both his parents ('That was how they had met', he thought happily. 'Sweethearts from Hogwarts.') Gryffindors were brave, and loyal, and headstrong and bold. Remus was loyal, and he guessed he could be considered brave, but he had thought that Gryffindor would sound ideal because the people there, if he made friends, would probably be more accepting of him and stay by his side.

"Gryffindor." He told Sirius, who's face stretched out into an even bigger smile.

"Same with me and Jamsie here!" he poked James with his foot, and James stuck his tongue out at him.

"I don't want to follow in my family's footsteps, you know? They stand for so many things I'm not, and I'd rather make my own reputation, not one based on the 'Ancient and Most Noble House of Black'." He rolled his eyes, flipping black hair out of his face and gazing out the window. Remus cocked his head curiously, wondering what Sirius mean by "standing for many things I'm not." How could this bubbly, energetic boy come from a bad family? James noticed Remus looking at Sirius quizzically and snorted.

"Sirius, he doesn't even know your family, you big moron. Why don't you explain? By the way, are you muggleborn?" He added on the end to Remus kindly, giving him an encouraging smile. Remus shook his head.

"Half. My mum's muggle-born, and my dad's a wizard. But they both went to Hogwarts." He added hastily, not wanting James to think anything bad about his wonderful, loving, brilliant, lovely mother, who was more of a witch than anyone he'd ever met. James looked smug.

"See, Sirius? You need to learn how to explain things, mate." Sirius let out a dramatic sigh, wrenching his gaze from the window and sitting up straight, stretching his legs out onto the seat across from him and leaning his head back onto the seat.

"Ever heard of the Black's, Rem?" he asked bitterly, face twisted with complete hatred, so different from his smiling face of five minutes ago. Remus shook his head, but on the inside, he was nearly jumping up and down with utter joy. Sirius had given him a nickname, and he wanted to be in Gryffindor as well! Sirius seemed like the kind of person Remus could trust… Remus pushed the thought of telling Sirius about his lycanthropy out of his head immediately. That would be a great way to become friends with someone. You're getting along fine for a couple of months, and then BAM! You find out your best friend is a werewolf.

Sirius let out a harsh laugh. "The most well-known Dark family of all time? Orion Black, The Minister's right-hand man? Decades and decades of Slytherins? I'm not following down that path. I'm going to make something out of myself that doesn't stand for something evil and prove that the Black name can be redeemed. Basically, I'm the white sheep of the Black family." With Sirius's last words, the heavy and serious atmosphere in the compartment seemed to lift. Remus could see the steely determination in Sirius's eyes, and knew that the other boy wouldn't stop until he had achieved what he'd proclaimed.

"I want to be in Gryffindor, too." James said suddenly, itching the top of his head and brushing aside unruly dark-brown hair.

"If I got into Slytherin, I think I'd drop out. Go live in exile somewhere. It'd be horrible!" Sirius gave a bark of laughter. "I would too! That house is nothing but trolls and slimy gits!" Remus laughed softly, content to just sit with the two boys and listen to their good-natured bickering and banter. He hoped that he'd become friends with them- they seemed so protective towards one another, and so, just, nice! He nearly let out a high squeak of excitement that couldn't even be dampened by the all-too-familiar ache that had started to creep into his bones, accompanied by the slight soreness of his legs and neck. The full moon was only two weeks away, and it would be Remus's first transformation away from home in years. He prayed that it would go smoothly, and that he wouldn't have any overwhelming injuries, since werewolves healed at half the rate humans healed and walking around with a broken arm would cause some questions. He didn't want to end up being a burden for anyone at the school, since they'd so graciously accepted him when no one else ever would. He hated the wolf side of him right then perhaps more than he'd ever hated it in his life. Why couldn't he just be normal? Sirius or James never had to worry about turning into a slavering monster once a month- why should he?

Breathing out a heavy sigh that seemed far too old for a child of eleven, Remus unwrapped the lunch his mother had so lovingly packed for him, including a flask of tea heated by a never-ending heating charm, a sandwich with the thinnest, rarest roast beef slices, and an apple. He spread it out all in his lap, taking care to ensure that each piece of food was safely tucked away and wouldn't topple over from the rocking movement of the train. As he smoothed the brown paper of the bag his lunch had been in, he felt something crinkly inside. Quizzically, he reached a hand into the now-smooth bag and pulled out a bar of Honeyduke's finest chocolate. Yes, it was on the small side, but he couldn't believe that his mother or father had any extra money leftover to use to buy him treats! He ran his finger along the bar, relishing the smoothness of the packaging and the brightly colored advertisements written all over it. He was so overjoyed to see that one piece of chocolate that he didn't even notice Sirius and James taking out their lunches.

"Yeechh…" Sirius made an exaggerated gagging noise, holding his bag out at arms length and wrinkling his nose.

"She knows I despise corned beef, yet she insists on giving it to me all the time! If she has Kreacher make everything, why cant she at least give me what I want?" He callously tossed the lunch bag onto the floor, and Remus stared at the sad-looking sack with wide eyes. Was Sirius really so rich or so spoiled that he was picky and arrogant about what he got to eat? Remus would never even dare of dreaming of throwing away his food like that. The Lupin's were rather tight on money, and anything his mother bought, he would eat. How insulting and disgraceful would it be to her, when she so willingly took the time to prepare him a lunch, only to have it carelessly chucked on the floor and not even opened? Remus bit his lip, looking down at his meager but well-prepared meal with appreciation. 'You have no right to judge Sirius like that.' He scolded himself, taking a small bite of his roast beef sandwich and letting the salty taste overwhelm his mouth. Maybe he really just didn't like corned beef? Whatever the issue, it was none of Remus's business, and he shouldn't go sticking his nose into places where it didn't belong.

James looked up and grinned at Remus with a mouth full of bread, glasses askew on his skinny nose. Remus couldn't help it- James simply looked too comical not to be laughed at. He let out a little giggle, which turned into a full-out laugh that caused him to wheeze for air and for his sides to ache with gasping breaths. He couldn't remember ever laughing so hard. Sirius had joined in, eyes alight with mirth, not even knowing what Remus was in hysterics over, but simply wanting to be a part of the fun. The rest of the train ride passed like that, particularly uneventful, and the three boys spent it chatting pleasantly about themselves and getting to know each other more.

* * *

Remus peered out of the window into the darkening sky, trying to catch a glimpse of the huge castle that he'd heard so much about. With his werewolf senses, his eyes became sharper at night than a humans, and he was able to see things better, but even he couldn't make out the castle in the gloom. Rain pounded on the roof of the train, irritating Remus's ears as the sound was echoing down the hallway and ringing in their compartment. He really didn't want to leave the cozy train and have to go outside in the howling wind and thrashing rain. Across from him, Sirius was sprawled on the seat, head resting on an armrest, mouth wide open as he slept through all of the rain. James sat next to him, also asleep, a thin line of drool visible on his chin. The train suddenly jerked to a halt, startling Remus and bringing both James and Sirius out of their naps.

"NAH!" Sirius snorted as he was dumped on the floor, his head colliding painfully with Remus's leg. Remus winced, but didn't dare lift up his leg to check for a bruise, for he knew of the multiple scars that crisscrossed there, and he knew of the bandage that was still wrapped around his foot from his last transformation.

"Sorry mate." Sirius said, standing up and stretching out his arms as James put on a heavy traveling cloak.

"It's alright." Remus answered back placidly, also shrugging on his thick cloak, which was enormous and hung off his bony frame like a sail. The door to the boys compartment slid open suddenly, and they saw a plump old witch smiling at them.

"Come on loves, it's time to leave now. Hurry, and make sure to grab all your things!" Remus nodded in appreciation at the witch, and held on tightly to his back of chocolate before placing it gently in his pocket. James and Sirius each grabbed their trunks down, and Remus wondered for a second where his was. He suspected his father had probably placed it somewhere. He followed Sirius and James out of the compartment and into the little hallway, now lit up and glowing by tiny floating lanterns that traveled a foot or so above Remus's head. The hallway was deserted, as were the rest of the compartment. Outside, Remus could just faintly make out a clump of people huddling together, and some lanterns shining dimly from tall posts. He prepared himself for the horrible weather outside, but as the witch opened the heavy door, he definitely wasn't prepared for the torrential downpour he was exposed to.

Rain slammed in sheets against his body, soaking through his shoes in a matter of seconds, dropout into his face, spattering onto his cloak. He fought to stand straight in the wickedly blowing wind, but he felt a weight on his shouted steadying him, and a huge presence blocking out the rain. He looked up, and nearly let out a very rude squeak. A gigantic man stared down at him, smiling cheerfully, his huge head surrounded by bushy black hair. He wasn't so much of a man, maybe more of a teenager in his elder years, around seventeen or eighteen. His one hand had to be bigger than Remus's whole chest, and he towered a good five feet over almost all of the students there.

"Oi, you alrigh' there, little one? Me name's Hagrid, an' I'm keeper o' the grounds at 'Ogwarts." He told Remus, not even having to raise his voice much to be heard of the storm. He gave Remus an encouraging smile, his smooth, boyish face contrasting with his huge body.

"I'm R-r-r-emus." he stuttered out, teeth chattering from the cold and the rain. Hagrid let out a deep guffaw of laughter.

"Someone as little as yeh shouldn't be out in the rain, no? I'll walk with ya, keep ya under my jacket, Eh?" he asked, looking with concern at the tiny, frail, sick and miserable-looking boy who stood shivering before him, flanked by two other boys, both looking up at the half-giant with utter amazement in their eyes.

"COME ON, FIRS' YEARS!" Hagrid roared, waving his long arms and herding all the first year students over to the edge of the platform, where they all huddle together in an effort to keep warm and dry. Hagrid kept a protective hand on Remus's shoulder the entire time, and with Sirius and James also trying to shield him from the brunt of the storm, Remus felt very happy and excited for the sorting ceremony and his first evening at Hogwarts.

"YEH ARE ALL GOIN' TA HOP IN THEM BOATS HERE!" Hagrid bellowed, gesturing over the edge of the platform where two dozen boats drifted against the concrete, bobbing wildly in the gale. Remus looked at the boats doubtfully, not sure that by getting on, he'd be guaranteed safe passage to Hogwarts. He couldn't even make out the outline of the castle through the sheets of rain and clouds that surrounded all of Hogwarts's grounds.

Remus took a step forward, debating what was the best way to get onto the boats, when him and Sirius were suddenly lifted into the air and plopped right down in the middle of one, James following right behind them. Remus looked up, confused, and saw Hagrid smiling down at him, ruddy face giving Remus a quick wink as he deposited more unwilling students onto the rocky boats. Remus smiled back and the kindly man, then turned his attention back on the churning water that stretched out ahead of the boats for what seemed miles. What is the boats tipped over? He didn't know how to swim, and then he'd never get into Hogwarts! A hand slipped into his own, and he looked to his left to see Sirius clutching to his hand tightly, the same expression of worry that Remus wore written all over his face. He squeezed Remus's hand comfortingly though, and on Remus's other side, James also took his hand, the three boys steeling their nerves together for what looked to be a very bumpy boat ride.

The boats moved with a lurch, and Remus gritted his teeth, waiting for the moment when the boat would loose it's balance and topple over. Shockingly, that didn't happen. Lanterns flared up in the front of the boat and on the two back corners, letting Remus see more of his surroundings. With the werewolf curse came extra, super-human senses, like extraordinary vision and immense strength and incredible nasal power. With the werewolf curse, Remus's pupils enlarged in the darkness, straining to see the huge castle that he'd been told so much about. The only thing he could see was a very faint outline as they drew closer over the lake, but he doubted that Sirius or James could see anything, so he didn't say a word about spotting it. Sirius tensed up next to Remus, and Remus looked to where Sirius was stating to see a huge tentacle whip back into the choppy water, a bird wrapped up in it's huge suckers. Sirius turned to Remus with wide eyes and scooted closer to him, away from the now-dangerous seeming edge of the boat.

After about twenty minutes, the boat hit into the side of the lake and teachers where everywhere, helping the students out of the boats, making sure everyone was there, so on and so forth. Remus gazed up at the enormous castle of Hogwarts, it's brightly lit windows and huge structure seeming so appealing to him, now that he was freezing and anxious and wanted nothing more than to sleep. The students were herded towards the huge, thick wooden doors of the entrance hall, which immediately swung open, to Remus's intense relief. The pelting rain and bone-chilling cold ceased as soon as he entered the castle, and his thick cloak suddenly felt huge and sodden and heavy on his tiny frame. He was led, along with Sirius and James, through a tiny hallway and out into the enormous Great Hall, where students of all shapes and sizes snickered at the tiny, soaking wet firsties. Remus grabbed Sirius's hand now, holding it tightly as he stared around, breath coming in heavy gasps. He'd never seen so many children before. The smells of everyone, the noise, it was nearly overwhelming for a frail boy of eleven who'd barely left his house his entire life.

Sirius held onto him though, also looking around in amazement and a tad of claustrophobia. Remus saw Proffesor Dumbledore stand up on a podium, holding a very battered, dusty, mildewy-looking thing, which proceeded to come to life and dance a little jig, wining a song that echoed around the Great Hall but was not heard by Remus, because the ringing in his ears and the whoosh of his heaving breaths drowned out all other noise.

The hat was suddenly still again, and a very severe looking witch took Professor Dumbledore's place on the podium. She held a long scroll, and she proceeded to place spectacles on her nose and call out the first name on the scroll in a crisp, clear voice.

"Allsbee, Angelica."

A dark-haired, stocky girl made her way up to the podium, where a chair with the Sorting Hat not stood. She looked very irritated to be there, Remus noticed. Who could be irritated when they were at Hogwarts? The hat was barely just placed on her head when it screamed out "SLYTHERIN!" The Slytherin table burst out into applause, with a couple of half-hearted cheers from the other houses.

One by one, the new first years were called up to be sorted by the Sorting hat, and the crowd around Sirius, Remus, and James dwindled and dwindled.

Then James was called.

Like the Slytherin girl who'd gone first, the hat barely touched his head before it shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" Grinning hugely, James shot encouraging smiles at Sirius and Remus before going over to sit at the still cheering Gryffindor table. There was now only Remus, Sirius, and three other students left, two boys and one girl. The girl was called, ("HUFFLEPUFF!"), as were one of the boys, who Remus noticed was the same pudgy boy that he'd seen on the train ("GRYFFINDOR!")

Sirius's name was called out, and the hall instantly broke out into muttering and glances of surprise and distrust. Gulping, Sirius bravely walked up to the platform, and Remus could see his shoulders shaking. He looked so small, standing up next to the witch, and Remus wondered why he looked so nervous. For the short amount of time Remus knew him, he seemed to be a certain Gryffindor. The hat was placed on his head, and Sirius screwed his eyes shut, gnawing on his bottom lip. Everyone was silent, and Remus was holding his breath. The hat seemed to take hours to make it's decision, but then the slit from which it talked opened wide and said "GRYFFINDOR!"

Everyone was silent for a moment, than the Slytherin's broke out into boos and hisses and jeers towards the boy, and the Gryffindor table broke out into roars of approval. Sirius, smiling broadly now, nearly skipped to the Gryffindor table and was caught in a bear hug by James. Satisfied that his friend was happy, Remus turned his mind back to his predicament.

The boy next to him's name was shouted out, ("Goyle, Zachary") and he lumbered up to the chair, leaving Remus all alone and standing in the mideast of the Great Hall.

His name was shouted out, and he squared his small shoulders and walk forward, keeping his chin tilted up high. He sat on the hard chair and closed his eyes as the hat was placed on his head, and waited for its decision, a decision that would change his life forever.


	3. Common Misconceptions

**AN: Hello my lovelies! Another chapter- sorry that this ones slightly on the shorter side, but you'll see, there's a method to my madness. Wait for chapter four! :D  
Thanks to BeautyIsOverRated and Little Miss LBP for reviewing- support is very appreciated! Plases, if you read this story, leave a comment so I know how I'm doing. It helps a lot. :)  
I'm going to try to get chapter four out sometimes before Saturday or Sunday, because I have a ton of softball practices because I have a tournament coming up in two weeks and not much work is going to be getting done there :/.  
I have a question for you people- what's the stupidest thing you've ever spelled wrong? Today,. in Earth Science, I spelled the word "Rock" wrong on a LAB! I spelled it rok. So, what's the stupidest thing you've ever spelled wrong?  
OOOHHH OMG the plea for a Beta Reader is also still up! If anyone is interested, PLEEASEEEE PM me or leave a rreview so I can get back to you! I'd love you forever and ever and ever and ever if you do it... *hint hint*  
Goodbye for now, enjoy this chapter, review it, send some love, answer my question if you'd like, and stay ready for chapter four! :D  
LURVES,  
Alex  
XOXOXO**

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**Common Misconceptions**

Remus scrunched his eyes shut tight as the light weight of the hat came down on his head, and it started to speak. It was quite strange, having a disembodied hat talk to you inside your own head, Remus realized. Very strange and particularly unnerving.

_'Well, well, this is interesting_.' the hat said, it's voice snarky and oily and seemingly dripping with satire. Remus was suddenly flashed back to a unpleasant vision of a Healer he'd once had to have at St. Mungo's when he was eight- he'd had a very bad moon and broken both his legs- who was rather overweight, balding, and had a large, pudgy face, complete with a walrus mustache. He imagined the hat, if it had a body, would look somewhat like the Healer.

_'A little wolf. You are one of the only wolves to ever set foot in this school_.' it said thoughtfully, but Remus's heart nearly stopped beating. What if that hat, instead of shouting what house to put him in, shouted out "WEREWOLF!"?

_'I will do no such thing!_' the hat said, seeming very indignant at Remus thinking so low of it. _'I am here to sort, not to ruin lives. But where to put you now... Interesting... Interesting..._' Remus's breath got sucked in sharply, painfully stretching out his lungs as he waited for the hat to make up its mind. _'Hufflepuff... Well, Remus Lupin, that's simply out of the question, isn't it? A werewolf in Hufflepuff? Slytherin... You're self-preservant, yes, and intelligent, but you lack cruelty and vicious cunning. Ravenclaw... Again, you are intelligent, very so, and book loving, but that house will not suit you well. Those sharpened minds will discover your secret and leave you precious little time to cover it up. Lastly, Gryffindor. the house of the brave and the loyal. I see immeasurable loyalty, a desire to prove yourself, bravery that surpasses your young years, a gentleness, a quiet determination to learn. You would do well in Gryffindor._'

Remus nodded his head ever so slightly, ever fiber of his being desperately hoping, praying that he'd be placed in Gryffindor, the good house, the Sieius and James. 'Please, oh please of please oh please...' he thought, clenching his teeth together. He felt the hat sigh on top of his head, (again, a very disturbing experience) and heard it say _'Well, if that's what you really want... I still feel you should've been in Ravenclaw. But so be it._'

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat roared out loud, and Remus opened his eyes, a huge smile on his face, to see all the students of Gryffindor cheering, and Sirius and James standing on the bench, cheering for him. With a happy little bounce in his step, Remus practically skipped off the platform, but walked with dignity to the Gryffindor table, where Sirius attacked him with a bear hug, and James pounded on his back. He was squeezed in between each excited boy, feeling their comforting warmth on either side of him, and he was so happy he nearly started crying. Professor Dumbledore had stood up at the staff table, holding out his hands to quiet all the jittery students.

"Welcome, everyone, to another fine year at Hogwarts. Before we eat, however, I must say a few words. We have received a new addition to our grounds- Professor Mistelle has ordered a Whomping Willow in order to study it. I must tell all of you- stay away from that tree. It is highly dangerous, and no matter how many Dungbombs you are bet to touch it's trunk, do not do it. Everyone is forbidden to stay away from that tree. The Forbidden Forest, may I remind our older students, is still out if bounds and off limits. We also have a new addition to our staff. Mr. Argus Filch has kindly stepped up to replace Peter McAliney in the role of Hogwarts Groundskeeper." Remus saw a rather grumpy looking little man standing by the edge of the Great Hall, a kitten in his hand, greasy face flushed red and scowling deeply.

"Looks like fun, don't he?" he heard Sirius mumble quietly, but Remus quickly turned his attention back to Dumbledore. "I sincerely hope all of you will enjoy Hogwarts, especially our new students, and may you all tuck in! I fear the house elves have outdone themselves this year, their steak-and-kidney pie is simply delightful!" With Dumbledore's last words, the empty table suddenly shimmered and were covered with platters and saucers and goblets full of food in drink. Remus's eyes went wide. He'd never seen so much food in his life! There were huge platters covered in perfectly cooked steaks, plates of mince-meat pie, bowls of mashed potatoes, soups, and salads, creamed corn, and piles of roast beef sandwiches, much to the irritation of Sirius.

Remus didn't know what to choose- there was just so many wonderful foods that he'd never tried before. He decided on mashed potatoes and some of the rarer slices of steak, since he didn't know what his stomach was going to be able to handle at this moment. He was feeling slightly nauseous, and it was probably due to the upcoming full moon. When it got closer and closer to being full, Remus craved more bloody steaks and rarer meats. It disgusted him, but it satisfied his stomach and took away his nausea, so he did it anyway.

Sirius and James were taking as much as they could fit on their plates and gobbling it down, ravenous from their naps on the train. Remus carefully sliced every piece of meat into tiny, even squares, which he then delicately ate, enjoying the meat but revolted slightly at how much he like the flavor of blood and rare meat. When he'd finished the meat, he reached over to get a saucer for gravy for his potatoes, but jerked his hand away when he felt his skin begin to blister. Silver. He checked the bowl, and sure enough, it was silver. He could feel the heat radiating out from around the bowl, and it was enough to nearly sear his skin before he'd even touched it. He quickly sat on his hand, not wanting James or Sirius to see the bright red burn that the silver had left on his flesh. If they saw, they'd ask questions. And what would he do then?

Remus ate delicately throughout the entire meal, his churning stomach growling a warning at him every time be thought about eating something that wasn't raw and bloody. Sirius was next to him, slumped over on the table, his face the glazed loom of someone who'd just eaten a very large meal, was very sleepy, and wanted nothing more than to sleep away all the food he'd eaten in a warm bed. Remus couldn't wait to sleep, either. His first day among more people then he'd ever seen before had gone very well, He thought to himself. He'd made two friends, he was in a perfect House, and Hogwarts seemed incredible. He'd even forgotten for a little bit, just a tiny bit, about being a lycanthrope.

That was, until the tall witch with wire-rimmed spectacles who'd been reading the names out before walked over to him, her face a smooth mask, her voice brisk.

"Mr. Lupin?" she questioned, staring at him with the air of someone who has to be somewhere very fast. Remus nodded, and she nodded crisply back, beckoning her hand for him to follow her. He slid off the bench, his heart heavy. He didn't want to talk to the Headmaster about being a werewolf! He just wanted to concentrate on being a normal boy, a boy who'd very much like to go up to the dormitory with his friends and sleep. His bones were aching agin, and when he took a step, he felt all the joints in his left knee crack and scream in protest. He'd been sitting on it for two long and it'd cramped up. Not wanting to show any signs of weakness, he gritted his teeth and followed the witch, turning around only once to smile at James, who was looking at Remus curiously, as if wondering why he was being led away.

He followed the witch out of the noisy Great Hall and down a chilly hallway, which caused Remus to shiver, hair sticking up on his arms and goosebumps rising up on his body. Damn the werewolf curse. He was always cold. He witch made a sharp left and walked quickly up a flight of stairs, causing Remus to have to nearly sprint to keep up with her, his short little legs no match for her long ones. He stepped onto the staircase just in time, too, because as soon as his feet were on the first step, the staircase shifted and wheeled away from the landing it had previously been attached too. Remus watched this all with wide eyes, then hurriedly scramble up the steps after the witches retreating figure. She stepped off the stairs and paused in front of a statue of a awfully carved gargoyle. It's face was rough and very unfinished, it's huge wings taking up almost the entire wall. She waited for him to catch his breath, then turned to the statue and said "Blood Pops."

The gargoyle sprung aside and a passageway with stone steps appeared behind it, the cheerfully flickering lanterns on the wall contrasting darkly with Remus's distressed mood. The stone steps curved past sleeping portraits of people, and Remus gulped in a deep breath, shuddering slightly when the witch turned around to look at him, and her gaze was full of fear and distrust. What had he done to her? They stopped abruptly at a wooden door, and a golden plaque on the door read "HEADMASTERS OFFICE". The witch pushed open the door, and Remus gasped in wonder at what he saw. He was in a large, circular room, which had more steps leading up around it, filled with books and diagrams and charts and everything scholarly that a boy like Remus would ever dream about.

A wooden desk sat in the middle of the room, and next to it was a large silver perch on which sat a magnificent red bird, it's glossy feathers smooth and shiny, plumed head arched delicately to regard the strangers with bright, intelligent eyes. There was a man sitting at the desk, and Remus knew him. It was Albus Dumbledore. Beside him sat a pretty young woman with a nurses uniform on, perhaps in her late twenties. She gave Remus a soft smile, and Remus felt some of his anxiety melt away. Surely, he could talk about his lycanthropy with these people. They seemed nothing like the Healers at St. Mungo's.

"Sit, my dear boy, sit." Dumbledore said gently, gesturing for Remus to take a seat in on of the plush chairs in front of the desk, his blue eyes twinkling behind half-moon spectacles perched uncertainly on a crooked nose. Remus sat, golden eyes twitching warily from person to person, and he stiffened as the witch sat down next to him and ever-so-slightly moved her chair away from him. Dumbledore certainly was a powerful figure, he thought, staring thoughtfully at the Headmaster. He had several feet of long, silvery hair and beard, his robes were a shocking hue of dark purple, and his wizard hat was tilted jauntily on his head, giving him the appearance of a much younger man. He radiated quiet, soft power, and power that Remus liked because it seemed so good and protective.

The Headmaster leaned forward onto his desk and rested his elbows on it, locking his fingers together and peering at Remus over his hands.

"I would like to welcome you here, Remus, and hope that your stay at Hogwarts will be a pleasant one. I just wanted you to come here so we could discuss your, err... monthly arrangements with Madame Pomfery, who will be taking care of you after each moon." he gestured to the kindly looking witch wearing the nurse uniform, who smiled at Remus again. Remus nodded to show that he understood, and Dumbledore continued.

"The Whomping Willow has been planted as a safeguard to the place where you will be transforming- the Shrieking Shack. There is a knot on the bottom of the willow- you just need to push that know to freeze the branches of the tree for enough time to get under it. Next to the knot, there is a tunnel, which will open as soon as you freeze the knot. You will go through that tunnel, which leads to the shack. Madame Pomfery will get you the morning after every full moon and take you back to the castle, where you will rest in the Hospital Wing. You will have as much time as needed to rest and recuperate, and I will have all your schoolwork brought to you. Is this all sounding alright? Will you need anything else?" Remus shook his head, completely in awe that a man like Albus Dumbledore would go to such lengths to protect a eleven-year old werewolf. He really was a kind, great man. Dumbledore smiled at him again, the glasses slipping just a little further down his nose.

"Remus, before you go, may the Madame and I ask you a few questions about your condition? It will help her treat you, and neither of us have actually had a full conversation with a lycanthrope before- maybe you will be able to tell us some information?"

Remus shrugged, his stomach coiling into knots again. He'd never really talked to anyone about being a werewolf except his parents. Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, and Madame Pomfery leaned forward.

"How long have you been a werewolf, love?"

"Since I was three." Remus answered automatically, twisting his hands together in his lap nervously. That day had been ingrained in his memory for as long as he could remember it. Madame Pomfery looked shocked, and Dumbledore simply raised his eyebrows slightly, pushing his glasses back up his nose.

"I don't really remember much when I was younger..." He went on hesitantly, earning nods of approval to continue from the two teachers in front of him, and only cold disapproval from the teacher sitting next to him. He sucked in a deep breath, breathing in the reassuring smell of books and old leather, and went on.

"My parents tried everything they could, went everywhere looking for a cure, but they never worked." The Madame had put a hand up to her mouth.

"They tried everything?" she asked in a scandalized whisper, slight horror in her eyes.

"Even the most, barbaric, inhuman treatments I've read about? Everything? They shoved nails through your feet and nailed your hands together?" Remus winced and squeezed his feet up tight into his shoes, remembering the utter agony of having six-inch nails driven right through his palms and his feet in Rome, Italy, a place that his parents were sure that would cure him. It didn't, of course, and left him with nothing but more scars and a terrible fear of nails.

"How could you do that to a child?" the Madame burst out, outraged.

"How could you hurt your ow-" Dumbledore held up a hand.

"Poppy, enough. Remus, please, go on."

Remus wracked his brains for anything remotely interesting or not disturbing that would give the teachers information.

"I'm very strong." he said quietly, and reached out a hand to clamp it on to the edge of Dumbledore's desk. He squeezed the desk gently, and he heard a splintering, cracking noise. He pulled his hand back and his handprint was imprinted in the table, the small shards of wood clutched in his fist.

"Fascinating.." Dumbledore breathed, gazing at the handprint with amazement in his eyes.  
"I... I can smell very well, too. You had steak-and-kidney pie and roast beef for dinner, and you were just recently outside, by some pine trees." he told Dumbledore, quickly going onto the next subject to that he didn't have to focus on the look of utter disgust on the witches face next to him.

"My eyes are golden," he paused and stared at Dumbledore, eyes wide, large and expressive in his pale face. "My ears are... Are pointed," he pushed some tawny hair away from his left ear and turned his head to face Dumbledore, his ear flicking slightly, like a cats, with nerves.

"I have very sharp teeth." he added softly, tilting his head down in shame before looking up again into Dumbledore's clear, lucid gaze, which, despite some of the things that Remus had told him, did not look at all disgusted or horrified. It was warm, and it comforted Remus in knowing that someone was not terrified of what he was. He curled his lips back from his teeth in a silent snarl, feeling the wolf inside of him howl in triumph with it's human counterpart showing such a wolf-like characteristic. His teeth glistened in the flickering lamplight, their eerily sharp surface something no human should have, something wild and feral that screamed "I'M DANGEROUS! STAY AWAY!" His canines were viciously curved and much longer than his other teeth- the rest were just slightly pointed at the tips.

The witch shuddered next to him, and he turned to her, lower lip starting to quiver. He didn't know what he'd ever done to the woman to make he so hateful towards him! He stared into her piercing green eyes with sadness and bewilderment in his. Her hands were clasped tightly in her lap, and she looked like she wanted to be anywhere but there. He could feel the mistrust coming off of her in waves, and he could smell the faint tint of fear that was masked slightly by hatred.

"Professor, I'm sorry for whatever I did. Why don't you trust me?" he asked sadly, biting the corner of his lip as he watched her eyes grow wide with surprise. She let out a heavy sigh, relaxing her body slightly and leaning back into her chair.

"Mr. Lupin, it's not you. I just find it... Difficult to trust something that I've been taught to hate and shun out of society. This isn't your fault. I'm just an woman stuck in her ways, that's all. I'm trying, I really am." she added at the end, more to herself than to Remus. He nodded in appreciation, and gave her a meek little smile, hoping for one in return. She tilted her lips up the teeniest bit, and Remus felt happy that he'd gotten someone to like him who didn't trust werewolves. He wasn't like most of his kind.

"Profes-" his question to Dumbledore was cut off by an enormous yawn.

"I think it's high time you rest, Mr. Lupin. Professor McGonagall will take you up to the Gryffindor dorms. Sleep well, and be ready for your schedule tomorrow." he said kindly, waving for Remus to go out on his way.

Remus nodded sleepily, and gratefully rose to follow McGonagall out with aching limbs.


	4. A Certain Degree of Misery

**AN: HELLOO! Chapter Four is up! This one is longish, so everyone enjoy! The lyrics below are froma Taylor Swift song, Safe and Sound, that I just felt captured some of Remus's transormation thoughts. Imagine his mother singing this to him! Can't you see that? Maybe it's just me.  
Anywhoo, I'm going to try and find song lyrics that I think descibe every chapter and put them up before the title. :)**  
**Thanks to BeautyIsOverRated and Kyandua for reviewing! Please review and leave me feeback- it helps SOO MUCH!  
**_**Remember- there's still a Beta request out there! ;)**_**  
****Enjoy, review, and show some love!  
****Love, (and have a Happy Mother's Day!)  
****Alex  
****XOXOXO**_  
_

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_"Just close your eyes, _  
_the sun is going down._  
_You'll be alright, _  
_no one can hurt you now._

_Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound."  
(Taylor Swift, Safe and Sound)  
_

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_**A Certain Degree of Misery**_

The following week went very well for Remus. All his teachers were especially kind, he had almost every class with James and Sirius, and he was overjoyed by the amount of knowledge he was gaining every day. He couldn't wait to wake up every morning and be ready to go with a brand-new piece of parchment and a sharpened quill. But of course, one could never have to long to be happy before something dreadful was bound to happen. The full moon had begun to creep up on Remus, starting as achey muscles and sore joints and progressing into chills and soreness to the point that his arm or leg would cramp up with pain. He watched in the mirror, every morning, as his eyes grew lighter as the moon waxed, the bones in his face becoming more pronounced against pale skin.

Remus woke up two days before the full moon feeling very hot. He pushed his covers off of him and made to get up, but his back protested sharply against the sudden movement, and he fell back whimsy his pillow, a tiny whimper of distress and pain escaping his throat on accident.

"Rem?" Sirius's sleepy voice came from right next to Remus's bed, and Sirius flung the hangings away from Remus's bed to gaze at him. His eyes widened and filled with care.

"Are you okay Remus? You aren't looking so great, mate..." he reached his hand out to brush it across Remus's flushed cheek, frowning slightly when he felt how hot it was. Remus sighed on the inside- he was used to the fever and the the chills. It just came with every moon, though some times were worse than others. This time happened to be getting very bad very fast. What he wasn't used to, however, was not being home and comfortable in his own house. He wasn't used to not having his mother rubbing his cramped muscles and giving him warm, soothing baths.

Sirius sat down on the edge of Remus's bed, face now wide-awake and full of worry. It still amazed Remus how close he and James and Sirius had grown over almost two weeks. The way they interacted sometimes, it was like they were brothers. Remus just stared up at Sirius wide bleary eyes, wanting so badly to go down to Madame Pomfery, but not being able to get up.

"I'm... F-fine, S-S-Sirius." he spit out through chattering teeth, and Sirius gave him a "Bullshit" face. He pulled Remus's covers up tight around Remus, making sure his whole body was covered, then sat down next to Remus, one hand brushing sweaty hair off of Remus's forehead. Remus closed his eyes and sighed softly, a cozy feeling spreading through his body at the tender touch that reminded him of his mother. Sirius hummed to him quietly, and continued stroking his hair until Remus slipped into a feverish, dreamless sleep.

* * *

When Remus finally woke up, the sky was dark through the window in the dormitory, rain pelting the roof and sides of the castle with unresisting fingers. He was uncomfortably cool, but when he felt his cheeks, they were burning hot. His head spun when he sat up, and with a sigh, he knew that it was time to go to the hospital wing. He needed a good long bath for his throbbing muscles, and something to ease his fever. He crept quietly as possible out of his bed and gathered up a bag of his rattiest robes to use to transform in. He grabbed his cloak off of the coatrack in the corner of the room and painfully shuffled out of the dormitory, looking around carefully in case he bumped into anyone. The clock in the common room read 10:15, and he prayed that he wouldn't be disturbing Madame Pomfery by coming so late.

His vision wasn't working properly- things kept fuzzing out of focus and black spots danced across his eyes. He practically hobbled into the hospital wing, panting for breath, head spin ing and legs feeling like rubber. He was getting a piercing migraine, and it probably wasn't helping his fever at all. He knocked softly on the matrons door, and didn't even flinch when it was yanked open two inches from his nose, eyes dull and feverish.

"Remus!" Madame Pomfery exclaimed, and her face came swimming into view, concerned eyes locked on Remus's.

"I... I don't feel well Madame," he glanced around quickly to make sure no one else was in the hospital wing. "The full moon is tomorrow. I always get like this for the week leading up to it. I was just feeling particularly bad tonight, and... and... And I miss my mother!" With those last words tears began to dribble down Remus's flushed cheeks. He almost never, ever cried- not even when he'd broken both his legs, not when he'd nearly bitten off his hand, never. But now, he was feeling so ill and miserable and nervous and Merlin, he just wanted his mum.

Madame Pomfery cupped his cheek in her hand, wiping away the few tears with her fingers.

"Oh Remus... What's wrong? What can I do?" she pleaded him, and Remus heard the same nervousness and uncertainness in her tone that he felt. This was one of his first transformations away from home, and he was just as scared as her. It was new for him, too. He focused his eyes on hers.

"I have a fever. And my legs and my arms and my back just hurt so bad..." he ended the sentence with a high-pitched wolf-like yelp of discomfort as he felt one of the muscles in his back twitch and send sharp pricks of pain all down his spine. Madme Pomfery looked at him pityingly, then stood up and rested one hand softly on Remus's shaking shoulder.

"Come on love, let's get you a nice long, warm bath. And them some tea, a dose of fever-reducer, and a little treat. How does that sound" Remus sniffed and nodded, following the matron on shaky legs through the empty hospital wing. She opened a door and lead him through a tiny, tiny hallway, which opened up into a cozy little room with a hospital bed with Gryffindor flannel sheets, two pillows, and a thick comforter draped over the edge. There was a wooden night-stand next to the bed, and on it was a pitcher, two glasses, and one of Hogwarts' many fascinating books. Remus sighed in relief that he'd have somewhere as comfortable as this to recover after his transformations. He jerkily dropped his meager belongings onto the bed and turned to face Madame Pomfery, who held her hand out for Remus to take. He did, and the steady pressure of her hand holding his was comforting and soothing to him.

She lead him out of the little room and back down the hallway, pausing at yet another door. This door lead to a bathroom, with a grand tub sunk into the floor with five different ornately carved pipes in it. Madame Pomfery turned one of them on, and the tub began to fill up with steaming hot water. Remus started to shed the many layers he'd had on until he was down to just his underwear and his socks, standing in the great bathroom, shivering. It wasn't until Madame Pomfery turned around and gasped in shock did Remus remember his scars.

To him, they were hideous- the true mark of such an evil and inhuman curse. They stretched over almost every part of his body, sometimes a light trail of almost spiderweb silk over his skin, other times deep red gouges more than two inches wide. His stomach had a vicious bite mark from his last transformation in August that was particularly nasty- it curved around his stomach and side, ragged scar tissue surrounding it, and Remus softly traced the line where it had torn out one of his ribs. The wolf was not going to be happy this moon.

Remus was also acutely aware of how painfully, unhealthily skinny he was. His hipbones stuck out sharply above the waistband of his boxers, he could count every one of his ribs, his knees were knobby, his fingers twig-thin, and his collarbones and shoulder blades stuck out of pale skin. He looked down in shame, afraid to see the disgust in Madame Pomfery's eyes, and curled his toes up inside his socks. He heard the Madame sigh softly, and a finger was placed under his quivering chin, carefully tilting his head up to meet Madame Pomfery's gaze. Her eyes were sad, but clear, with none of the horror and fear that Remus had expected to see. She smiled at him and brushed hair off his forehead.

"You've nothing to be ashamed of, dear. I'm just not used to seeing such terrible marks on such a small lad. Just go on and slide into that tub- when you're done, I'll get you nice and settled and I'll give your shoulders and neck a rub. Would that help at all?" Remus nodded vigorously and peeled off his socks and underwear, shivering violently as the chilly air from the bathroom hit his bare skin and raised goosebumps. He slipped into the bath and let out a weary moan of happiness as the tension and aches in his limbs was immediately alleviated by the warm bath water. He sank down into the tub until only his head and neck were above the water, leaned back, and closed his eyes.

He lay there, absolutely listless, completely soothed by the heat that warmed his thin body. He heard Madame Pomfery bustling around the small bathroom, putting bottles into place, straightening things out, and then the sharp aroma of her sadness. Remus could smell the sadness coming off of her in waves, and every time she looked (or he thought she looked) over to him, she'd make a little sigh of despair. Remus wanted to stay in that bathtub forever, but the water was starting to cool down, and he was getting chilly.

"Madame?" his voice cracked slightly as he opened his eyes and gazed around for the Madame. She hurried back into the room through the door, a fluffy white towel draped across her arms. Her face spread into a soft smile when she saw him.

"Hello love, feeling better? How are the aches?" she asked, dropping the towel and holding out both her hands to help Remus out of the tub. He took her hands gratefully, seeing that as soon as he stepped out of the water, his legs started quivering like jello again, the deep pain of agonized bones rushing back with a flourish. He blushed red as the Madame wrapped the towel around him, but then realized that she hadn't been looking at him while he was indecent.

"I was feeling better, but it all just came back." Remus responded miserably, shivering violently under the towel. Madame Pomfery clucked her tongue sympathetically and quickly led him out of the drafty bathroom and into Remus's special post-transformation room. His underwear were laid out on the bed, along with the Gryffindor flannel pajamas from his dormitory, and a thick woolen pair of socks. Remus gratefully pulled his underwear and the pajama bottoms on, and shrugged into the shirt. His fingers weren't working to clasp the buttons together, though. His hands were shaking too much to allow the button to slip through the hole. Madame Pomfery carefully moved his trembling hands aside and nimbly buttoned down Remus's whole pajama top, and held his socks out for him. He took them from her and pulled them on, humming slightly as his whole body started to warm up.

He climbed up onto the bed and laid out down on his stomach, burying his freezing fingers deep into the warm sheets while Madame Pomfery started to rub his aching back. She performed gently ministrations on his neck and shoulders, taking some of the kinks out of Remus's back and alleviating some of the pain. Remus groaned when she hit a particularly tender spot, and she stopped abruptly. He flipped over onto his back, and started to shimmy under the thick covers. He leaned back on the soft pillows and sighed heavily as his body started to relax a little bit. His vision was swimming slightly, and he still felt feverish. Madame Pomfery pulled the covers up high on Remus and added the comforter on top of them. She gave him a quick smile and hurried out of the room, only to return two minutes later with a steaming mug of tea and a thick slab of chocolate.

Remus's eyes lit up slightly when he saw the chocolate, and he smiled through the haze of fever and aches and chills that covered his brain. He started to sit up, but Madame Pomfery pushed him down, instead sitting down in a chair next to the head of Remus's bed. She slipped s hand underneath his neck and lifted it up slightly so she could pour small amounts of tea into Remus's mouth that he gulped down eagerly, not even caring that some of the tea leaked out of his mouth and dribbled down his cheek. He lapped at the droplets like an animal, licking around his mouth to try and get every drop of tea, but some spilled onto his chest and made him hiss in pain from the heat. Madame Pomfery waved her wand over the spilled tea, and it all disappeared, letting Remus once more feel warm and safe and content. He dimly saw the Madame breaking up the chocolate bar, but his eyelids felt too heavy, and they slid closed, allowing Remus to drift off into the blissful oblivion of sleep.

* * *

Remus woke up in a panic, not aware of where be was. Eyes wheeling around the room, his brain fought through early-morning sleepiness and the wolf so close to the surface to tell Remus that he was safe, that he was in the hospital wing. With a sigh of relief, he slumped back against the pillows, head throbbing and legs quivering. His throat was sore, and every time he swallowed it felt like he was swallowing knives.

"Madame!" he called out hoarsely, his parched throat begging for water, but he could barely hear his feeble cry. He didn't think the Madame was going to hear it, from however far away she was.

"Madame!" he tried again, voice a little stronger, but still, no one came. With shaking limbs, Remus pushed himself up and lowered his body off of the bed, tremors wracking through his fragile body. He stumbled out of his special room and down the short corridor, Leaning heavily on the wall for support. He opened the door that lead to his hallway, and poked his head out, glancing around blearily to check if anyone was around. The coast seemed clear, so he shuffled out into the hospital wing and over to the Madame's office, knocking twice on the wooden door. It sponge open, revealing Professor McGonagall, who was also his Transfiguation teacher.

"Lupin!" she exclaimed, looking extremely suprised to see him standing there.

"What are you doing? What happened to you?" Remus ignored her questions and fought back a growl as the wolf raged inside of him, angry at this petty woman who was standing in his way. His ears flicked back, and McGonagall noticed it, face twisting slightly in disgust. Remus couldn't hold back the vicious snarl that ripped it's way through his bared teeth at her revolted face. His eyes narrowed and he curled his lips back from his teeth, slouching down slightly into a cat-like crouch. Madame Pomfery pushed her way past McGonagall and cried

"Remus!" Remus stiffened and straightened up, pressing against the wall for support. He shook his head to snap out of the wolf trance, and stared at McGonagall with terror in his eyes.

"Love, what are you doing out of bed? Do you need anything?" Madame Pomfery asked gently, kneeling down to Remus's level and stroking his hair.

"W-water." he stammered out, and the Madame took his hand and brought him back to his room, making him lie down on the bed again while she poured him a glass of water. He gulped it down, and when he was finished, Professor McGonagall was standing in the doorway, a disapproving look on her face.

"Sorry, sorry!" Remus whimpered out, looking down at the bed and sniffing, horrified with himself that he'd shown a teacher the horrible side of his animalistic agrission. He just couldn't help it! The closer the full moon got, the more wolfish he got!

* * *

"Come, dear heart, it's time." Madame Pomfery told Remus softly, and Remus stood up on wobbling legs and steeled his nerves. He shrugged on his heavy traveling cloak and took a deep breath as he followed the Madam out of the hospital wing and into the dark corridor. They walked furtively through Hogwarts, with Madame Pomfery glancing around nervously every now and then to make sure no one was watching them. Remus felt the tremor in his bones grow stronger every passing second as the full moon drew nearer and nearer. Madame Pomfery put a comforting hand on his trembling shoulder

holding onto him as they walked through the enormous doors of Hogwarts and down the stone steps leading to the grounds. Remus shivered in the cool September air, and before they neared the Whomping Willow and the reality of what he was about to undergo hit him like a ton of bricks, he took one last look around him at all the trees that were turning colors in the dusk of the evening. Everything looked so peaceful and pretty to him- the sunset's last dying rays cast light shadows onto the red and gold and yellow of the leaves, and the whole grounds were reflected onto the lake, creating a beautiful portrait of Hogwarts that Remus wished he could freeze forever. Then the dark shadows from the Whomping Willow were on him, and Remus could **cry** when he though of what would be happening to his body and his fragile mind in not even an hour.

The Madame pulled at her wand and murmured an incantation that Remus didn't quite catch and the wildly waving branches of the tree suddenly froze in place, allowing Remus and Madame Pomfery to slip in between them until they were pressed against the trees trunk, where Remus could see a gaping hole that had opened up between the gnarled roots of the huge tree. Madame Pomfery motioned for Remus go down into the hole, but before he'd put his feet in, she stopped him and hugged him.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, but I can't go any further. You have to go on alone. Just keep walking until you reach a door. Go through that, and..." she trailed off, looking misty-eyed. She leaned down and kissed his fever-hot forehead and gave his hair one last caress.  
"I'll be here in the morning to get you. Will you be alright?" she asked him, and the thought of what he'd look like in the morning caused Remus's stomach to knot up once more, and it was too much for him to handle. He leaned over and started to wretch, the soup and hot chocolate he'd eaten earlier in the day all coming right back up in painful heaves. When he was finished, he leaned on the Whomping Willow and clutched it like a drowning man would clutch a lifeboat, wishing he could sink into the floor and die right then and there.

"Remus?" Madame Pomfery pressed, giving him a napkin to wipe is mouth with. He gave her a feral smile, eyes absolutely wild, lips pulled back from his teeth.  
"I think you should g-go." he hissed, shuddering as the wolf fought to get free- it knew it was SO close to freedom, and it wanted to get out, it needed blood, it craved it, it needed to hunt, to rip and tear and kill, and this witch smelled so tantalizing, so appetizing... Remus dug his nails into his skin, trying to regain his human mind and hold onto sanity for just a couple more minutes, and ducked down into the hole, leaving a bewildered Madame Pomfery behind him. He crawled on his hands and knees through the earthy tunnel like the animal he was, not even caring if he ripped his ratty transformation robes, not caring that dirt was rubbed into his hair and streaked onto his face and cutting his kneecaps.

Finally, after about ten minutes, he reached a small wooden door, which, gasping from his mad dash to the Shack, he pulled open with difficulty. He stepped into a room that was roughly the size of the dormitory, containing a four-poster bed with Gryffindor hangings, a dresser, a wooden chair, a old rug, and a nightstand. There was another door that led to somewhere else in the Shack, but Remus was to exhausted to try and explore his transformation place. He glanced out a small window to the darkening sky, and got one last glimpse of the sun before it sank behind the Forbidden Forest. He took off his heavy cloak, since he didn't want the wolf to shred it, and placed it outside behind the door, in the tunnel, then shut the door tight and shuddered. He took off his robes and underwear and socks and shoes and carefully folded his clothes up and hid them in one of the dresser drawers. He then curled up on the creaky bed and his his face in one of the musty pillows, trying to ignore his shaking limbs. When the shaking became unbearable, he let out a final sigh and laid out straight as a board on the bed a shoved the pillows under the bed so they wouldn't get chewed. He started to spasm, and as the room was bathed in pale light from the full moon, all hell broke loose.

Remus tried to not scream as the first wave of agony ripped through his body, but couldn't. He let out a high scream as his back arched up off the bed, and he heard his fingers and toes start to break. His shoulders dislocated and his kneecaps shattered, followed by an intense, hoarse scream of utter human suffering. He fell off the bed, twitching and shrieking and convulsing as his ribs cracked and his legs broke, elongating and becoming covered by soft tawny hair. The bottoms of his feet ripped open to allow pads to push through, and Remus screeched and screamed, wishing it to be over, wanting to die instead of having to go through the rest of the transformation.

His wrists snapped and stretched out and bent into paws, claws ripping through his fragile fingers and tearing at his body to make the agony STOP. A crack like a gunshot meant that Remus's hips had shattered and were reforming, a tail pushing out of his back and hips curving into themselves, legs popping back into place into the wolfs hip sockets. Remus tried to scream, but a howl came out of his throat, and horrible sounding howl that sounded remarkably human. His nose snapped and his jaw dislocated, pushing out and curving into a muzzle, gums bleeding as they turned black and vicious-looking, dagger-like wolf-teeth pushed through them. A hungry muzzle snapped at the hair, snarls of pain ripping out of it as Remus ears elongated and covered in hair, his shoulders snapping back into place as the wolfs front legs. Remus through back his head and howled one last time, but his spine cracked and Remus-the human knew no more, but the great wolf was ready and relishing it's freedom from that puny little man-cub it shared a body with.


	5. Slow Recovery

**AN: Heyy guys! Sooo sorry that I haven't updated in like, FOREVERR! I had my tournament yesterday and today. My team didn't do so well, but I got a nice tan on my face. :)And my arms  
But a horrible tan line from my mitt. :( Ahhh oh well. ;)  
Thanks to Kyandua, slashyslashlover, BeautyIsOverRated, and HopeSproustWings for reviewing! I love you guys!  
Hope you enjoy this chapter, review, have a great Memorial Day, and don't forget to thank a veteran and make them feel good! No matter what country they are from, they are brave people and deserve a huge thank-you for thweir incredible services. :)  
lOVE,  
Alex :)  
XOXOXO  
Ps. Excuse this super short chapter! D:**

* * *

**Slow Recovery**

_"I cannot find a way to descibe it  
It's there  
Inside  
All I do is hide.  
I wish that it  
Would just go away.  
What would, you do  
You do if you knew.  
What would you do?"  
(Avril Lavigne, "Take Me Away")_

Remus awoke to mind-numbing, excruciating, searing pain that, seemed to spread from his face down to his toes. He couldn't move, he couldn't think- all he could do was focus on the relentless pain that smashed into his body again and again like a tidal wave. His mind was slowly coming back to him: it took a while to regain complete consciousness after the full moon- and while it did, he started trying to remember where he was, what happened, and how bad was he hurt.

He knew that he was in the Shrieking Shack still- it was much too cold and creaky to be the hospital wing. It was the morning after his first full moon at Hogwarts, and Remus was utterly terrified of what the wolf could've done to him. He began to figure out where he was hurting, aside from the bone aches and raw skin that always came after transformations. The sharp pain in his chest must be broken ribs, and by Remus's wheezing and panting breaths, there must be multiple ones broken. He couldn't feel his right leg, and when he shakily reached his hand out to feel his chest, it was sticky with blood. His shoulders were on FIRE with pain, and his face felt numb and strangely loose. He tried to shift slightly out of the pool of blood, and let loose a hoarse howl of agony. His shoulder felt like it was being torn apart with any tiny movement he made. He heard two sets of feet running through the tunnel, and the door to his room swung open. A womans scream followed the creak of the door, and Remus flinched and moaned and wished for Madame Pomfery.

"Good God!" he heard someone shout, and pressure was put on his bad arm. Remus shuddered once from the torture that one little touch had given him, and fainted dead away.

* * *

Remus was having quite a strange, out of body experience. He had partially woken up agin, and could hear people talking, but his eyes wouldn't open and he wasn't able to talk or move. It was very peculiar, and he felt awful. His head was pounding, his body was dreadfully sore, and he was much too hot. From far away, he could hear people talking, and the sound got clearer and less exhort the more he focused on it.

"The poor boy..." he heard Madame Pomfery say softly by his head, and a comforting cold compress was wiped across his burning forehead. He wanted to wake up and explain to her that what had happened to him was normal for the full moon, that it wasn't really quite that terrible, but he couldn't.

"I can't... I can't imagine how his parents do this." Professor McGonagall sniffed, and Remus could smell the guilt that was pouring from her.

"I've never seen that much blood... It was everywhere! And him just lying in it... Broken..." she sobbed slightly, and Remus guessed that she wasn't over the shock of seeing him right after his transformation. He felt sick that people had to see him like that, and a person who already disliked him at that!

"I've never seen such ruthless hurts on such a small lad!" she continued, voice rising slightly and taking on a more hysterical note.  
"seeing him just lying there, with that shattered ribcage and his legs just... Snapped, I couldn't understand how I could ever be cruel to someone like him! How he goes through that every month, I don't know. But Poppy, i was just so awful to him!" Remus heard the sound of a nose being blown, and the Madame's soothing stroking of his face stopped for a moment.

"Minerva, don't be too harsh on yourself. Just talk to him when he awakes- he really is such a gentle little thing. He'll forgive you no matter what." Remus found that he was able to move suddenly, and he mustered almost all of his strength just to open his eyes a crack, crusted blood tumbling off his long lashes, everything fuzzy through exhausted eyes. His stomach gave a roll, and he throughout queasily about all the blood that the wolf had swallowed last night that was going to come up sometime during the day. He tried to call for the Madame, but only a strangled squeak was able to come from his throat, which had been worn raw and bloody from a night of howling. He saw Madame Pomfery's white-clad figure swim into view above his face, growing clearer as he tried to focus on her face.

"Remus! Love, how are you feeling? Do you need anything?" she asked him anxiously, and carefully slid him up on the pillow so he was propped up into a sitting position. It didn't do much for his churning stomach, and Madame Pomfery quickly shoved a basin under his chin before he vomited blood all over the sheets. That was one of the worst parts of his transformations. Throwing back up the blood was horrible and absolutely _awful_ to watch and to have to endure. It made him sick to his stomach again, and he gagged, gasping for air when the movement triggered the fiery pain in his ribs and a burning in his raw throat.

"Oh Remus..." the matron sighed and took the basin away when Remus was finished, wiping his mouth with the corner of her apron and vanishing the bloody sick. Remus couldn't manage anything more than a whimper to answer her back with. He didn't want to fall asleep, but his body just hurt _so_ bad, and he was so tired. He forced his weary eyes to stay open and tried to form words with his chapped lips, trying to beg for water that would soothe his parched throat and bone-dry tongue.

"Wa... Wat..." he managed to squeak out, his voice wheezing and chest pinching as he pushed his lungs to their limit. Madame Pomfery put a cool finger on his lips, keeping them shut.

"Hush lad, don't try an talk. I know what you need. Some water?" Remus gave her the tiniest little nod he could manage, and she smiled at him and poured him some sparkling, refreshing, clear, cold water from the pitcher on his nightstand. She tilted the cup with the water up to his lips and pored a little in, wrapping one arm around Remus's neck to support his limp head. Remus drank and drank, and soon finished one glass, then another, then another. The water flooded his system, cooling him down and quenching his wild thirst. He sighed softly when he'd drunk his fill, and slumped back against the pillows, utterly exhausted by the short amount of work he'd done.

It was time to question the inevitable.

"M..Madame, w-what d-d-did I d-do?" he stuttered out, teeth chattering and smashing together and mauling his words and causing him to bite his tongue and flinch at the revolting taste of blood and the prick of pain. Madame Pomfery sighed and pulled up a chair next to Remus's bed, taking one of Remus's bandaged hands in her own. She looked very sad, and Remus groaned inwardly. It'd been the worst moon he'd had in a while, and he was afraid of what the wolf had done to him. The nurse took a deep breath before she began.

"You lost a dreadful amount of blood, dear. You broke your leg, tore out three ribs, collapsed your ribcage, dislocated your shoulder, and your jaw. Your whole stomach was ripped open..." she trailed off and put a hand up to her mouth, sniffing slightly before she could speak again.

"I healed almost all of the smaller cuts, but your body seems to be rejecting nearly every treatment. Why is that? I should've been able to mend your stomach, but it's going at a snails pace." she looked at him quizzically, waiting for him to explain. Remus sighed deeply, forgetting that he hadn't told Madame Pomfery that werewolves heal at nearly half the rate of humans, and that werewolf bites were cursed bites, and therefore took ages to heal and to scar over, usually never fading and leaving wicked scars in Remus's pale skin that would never go away.

"W-werewolv-ves heal at h-half the r-rate of humans." he said quietly, and blushed with humiliation. _'It's true.'_ A nasty, snide little voice in the back of his head told him. _'You aren't a human, or even a wizard. You'll never be able to pose as one. You're just a filthy, dirty, foul little animal.'_

'SHUT UP!' Remus thought fiercely, determined not to let the voice get to him.

"I c-can probably l-leave here t-tommorow evening, if I have some f-fever-reducer and some Skellegrow." he tried to say bravely, but he knew he wouldn't be out of the hospital wing for a couple of days. His leg was still immobile and bound in a splint, his chest and abdomen were still covered in bandages and felt very pinched, judging from the tightness and tenderness in his chest, his ribs were still all busted, too. His shoulder felt alright- he gave it anexperimanetal roll, and sighed in happiness when nothing happened. He shakily reached up to brush his thumb along his jaw, and flinched when when a throb ran through his neck and jawbone. Remus's eyes widened in alarm- what if he'd severely bruised or cut his face? People were going to pick up on that, ask questions, start asking questions. Especially very smart people like James and Sirius. A jolt of fear ran through him as he suddenly thought of his friends. What kind of story could he tell them?

* * *

Remus squared his shoulder and clenched his fists together as he swallowed one last cup of Skellegrow before he was able to leave the hospital wing. Madame Pomfery looked him up and down quickly, and gave him a small smile. Remus made a face at the awful taste of the potion but managed to gulp it all down, and shuddered when it all slid down into his stomach. He wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his robes and rubbed his aching knee, preparing himself for a full day of walking on it and moon-sore bones.

"Remember Remus, I want you back here right after dinner. I need to give you another potion, and I want to check up on everything. The SECOND something starts hurting, I expect you to come right here. Drink plenty of fluids, and please be careful!" Madam Pomfery hugged Remus quick, then gave him a little pat to send him on his way. He shifted his bookbag slightly on his shoulder so it wasn't pressing down on a sore muscle and walked out of the hospital wing, ignoring the searing pain in his leg and in his stomach. If Madame Pomfery saw him limping, she'd never let him leave to go to classes, and Remus NEEDED to go. He'd already missed four days- he was going to be so behind, and he was nervous about seeing James and Sirius. He hadn't told them he was leaving, and they were bound to get worried and suspicious.

He ignored his discomfort and rolled his shoulders to get them looser and work out all the kinks from lying in bed for three days, and growled quietly as his skin stretched and howled in protest, still tender from the full moon. He leaned heavily against the stone wall of the hallway down to the Great Hall, glancing around furtively to make sure no one saw his moment of weakness and wondered what a tiny first-year who looked like he'd been mauled by a bear was doing out of the hospital wing. Remus fingered a purple splotch of a bruise just under his jawbone and swallowed nervously. He could hide his limp, hide his slashed open stomach, hide the discomfort his lungs were in, but he couldn't hide that one bruise, nor the pallidness of his skin nor the sickly tone and fever splotches that still accompanied his injuries.

He flinched as he saw the first couple of students up ahead heading into the hall for breakfast, and just tilted his head down and walked, trying to blend into the shadows and keep out of sight as much as possible. He made it through the huge doors and gazed up at the ceiling, which was a dark, stormy grey that matched Remus's mood very well. Rain showers fell from the swirling storm-clouds, only to shimmer into the air and disappear twenty feet above the students heads. Remus lifted his bookbag off his shoulder and set it down carefully on the wooden bench before staring at the bench in dismay. How was he supposed to lift up his legs without tearing open his stomach or re-breaking fragile bones? He clamped both hands onto the table, and winced when he heard a sharp crack as the wood splintered under the pressure of his fingers. Ever-so-carefully, he slid one leg up and over the bench, using every bit of his self-control to keep his face blank and devoid of emotion or anything that would give away the pain he was in. He wanted to just stand there and scream as the furious stream of pain from his stomach sunk it's teeth deep into his abdomen and refused to let go, making him suck in a deep gasp as his ribs throbbed.

He bit his lip so hard that he tasted blood, and almost gagged at the horrible taste. He managed to get both his legs over the bench and he jerkily sat down, folding his head down onto his arms and panting like he'd just run a marathon. His head was spinning and his chest hurt like hell, and Remus wished he was home, and safe, without any fear of discovery and his mother for comfort.

"Remus?" A shout came from behind him, and Remus groaned softly as he recognized the persons voice. It was Sirius.

"Remus! Where HAVE you been? You didn't tell me or James where you were, you just up and left! I've been worried something awful! I thought you bloody died!" Remus fought back a snarl. He loved being around Sirius, he truly did, but the other boys peppiness and non-stop questions were NOT what he needed at the moment. He wearily lifted up his head to stare at Sirius, who'd plopped himself down on the bench beside Remus and was shoveling eggs onto his plate. Remus looked at the eggs, and felt a tinge of nausea. He just wanted tea. Sirius stared at him expectantly, and Remus sighed.

"I have to visit my mother." he said quietly, hating himself tremendously for having to lie to a friend as good as Sirius.  
"She gets ill very often, and it's often very serious. I have to go to her and help her get well." his voice sounded soft and flat, even to him. Sirius stared at him suspiciously, then reached out and turned Remus face to the side. Remus clenched his teeth tightly together to keep from snapping at the boys hand, sinking his teeth into the warm flesh... He could see the veins, pulsing just under the fragile skin covering the puny humans hand, Moony was out and he wanted blood, he needed blood! Remus jumped, and tried to clear his pounding skull. Sirius let out a sharp huff of disbelief and horror when he saw Remus's face.

"Remus! Who did this to you! What the bloody hell happened!" he nearly shouted, hands balking into fists, grey eyes narrowed dangerously. _'Sirius is very loyal'_, Remus mused, and felt sick on the inside on how Sirius's unwavering loyalty was wasted on someone who had to lie to him every day. Remus tried to turn away, to turn away so he wouldn't have to see the rage and concern in Sirius's stormy eyes, but he couldn't. Sirius had his arm in an iron grip, and he wasn't going to let go until he got an answer, because Sirius was stubborn and determined, and dare Remus even think it, somewhat spoiled and used to having his own way. Remus tried to wrench his arm away, but Sirius grabbed the other arm and pressed down on a very tender spot on Remus's bone from Remus's shoulder being dislocated. Remus let out a sharp yelp of pain and Sirius immediately let go, thinking that he'd squeezed Remus's arm too hard.

"Who did it!" he immediately asked again, and Remus felt the wolf rise up inside of him again. It seethed at this small human child who DARED question it, who dared stand in it's way and pry and poke until it discovered the wolf. With a snarl of anger, Remus jerked away from Sirius and fumbled off the bench. When he was finally off, after an agony-filled stumble, he shifted slightly, ever-so-slightly, down into an animalistic crouch and bared his teeth. His ears flicked back and lowered, and he growled at Sirius under his breath. Sirius looked terrified, and it upset the wolf even more. The wolf could smell the boys fear, sharp and metallic in the air, and it relished it.

"Stop it!" Remus shrieked suddenly, more to the wolf than to Sirius, standing up straight and covering his ears with his hands, trying without success to keep the wolf contained, to stop hearing it howl for blood.

"Remus!" Sirius's voice was full of worry, but when he placed a cautious hand on Remus's arm, Remus snapped. "Don't touch me!" he hissed, eyes narrowed as he backed away from Sirius.

"Leave me alone!" With the last shout, Remus scrambled up and bolted from the Great Hall, his breath coming in the dry, wracking heaves that one gets after they vomit. There was only one thought that was coherently formed in his brainas he stumbled up towards the staircase that would take him to his dormitory, a thought which stung the inside of his skull like a tiny swarm of bees.

What had he done?


	6. Someone to Talk With

**AN: HIII GUYSS! School for me is almost over! I'm SOOOOOOOO EXCITED! :DDD It's almost summer time! This is my last week of real classes, then I have finals :/ So I'm uploading this chapter, and I'll try to get another up soon, but I need to study :( I hate studying. :(((((  
Anywhoooo  
Thanks to Mrs. Jim Weasley, Kenta, Kyandua, Skylar Bane, and BeautyIsOverRated for reviewing! I love you guyss! *HUGGLES*  
I have a new announcement- well, actually two.  
**

**First one- I have a poll up on my profile page about favorite Harry Potter pairings. Since its going to be summer and I'm going to have a lot more time, I figured I might as well, write some more. So, I want you guys to vote for your fav pairing and I'll do a oneshot of whoever was chosen :)  
**

**Second announcement- WE NOW HAVE IMAGE MANAGER! If any of my readers are artists and would like to make a cover for Child of the Moon, please PM me ASAP. I'd LOOOVE it if someone did that :D**

SOO my darlings, thanks a bajillion for reading my little shtuffings. Please enjoy this chapter with all of your lovely little hearts, and give me some reviews. :)))  
LUUURVE,  
Alex  
XOXOXO  


* * *

**And you can't talk about it**  
**Because you're following a code of silence**  
**You're never gonna to lose the anger**  
**You just deal with it a different way**  
**And you can't talk about it**  
**And isn't that a kind of madness**  
**To be living by a code of silence**  
**When you've really got a lot to say.  
(Code of Silence, Billy Joel)**

* * *

**Someone to Talk With**

Remus stumbled through the portrait hole after telling the Fat Lady the password, ("noggit"), not even pausing in the common room as he hurried up the steps to his dormitory as fast as his aching legs could manage. He slipped on the bard stone step right before the door to his room, and came crashing down right on his bad leg. With a sharp, quick cry of pain, Remus clutched at his knee and bit his lip as tears pooled in his eyes from the sharp bite of pain.

"Remus?" he heard Sirius's faint shout from the common room, and his head snapped up- no matter what was wrong with him now, he mustn't show Sirius any signs of weakness. So he stood up with difficulty, pressing almost all of his weight down on his good leg as he tore open the door to the dormitory. Thank Merlin neither James nor the other boy the three of them shared a room with was in the room, and Remus nearly cried in relief as he dragged his leg through the room and into the granite-floored bathroom, where he slammed the door shut and leaned heavily against it, locking the brass doorknob with shaking fingers. He collapsed onto his knees and leaned his face against the cool loo, gritting his teeth to prevent a scream from ripping it's way out of his mouth. What was he to do about Sirius? He could try to convince him that he was ill and that was why he hadn't been acting normally, but he didn't know it that would fool heard the door of the dormitory open, and he sat up in a panic.

"Remus!" Sirius cried indignantly, and he strode across the room to grab ahold of the bathroom doorknob. Without any other options, Remus stuck a finger down his throat in a moment of crazy logic and vomited up into the toilet. He gagged and sputtered, spitting to get the foul taste of vomit out of his mouth. Maybe that would convince Sirius that he was sick.

"Rem!" Sirius shouted, and Remus heard a muffled "Alohomora" before the door swung open and Sirius barged in. He fell to his knees beside Remus, eyes wide and concerned. Remus clung to the toile seat, his face pale and beaded with sweat, which fit the "sick" excuse just fine. He was beginning to feel nauseous, and it was actual nausea that rolled his stomach. His whole body hurt, his knee felt like a dragon had chewed on it, and all he wanted was for Sirius to leave him alone so he could sleep!

"Are you okay?" Sirius asked softly, and Remus felt a light pressure on his forehead, a cool hand brushing his hair off his sticky forehead just like Madame Pomfery or his mother would do for him. He let out an exhausted sigh and opened his eyes to find liquid grey staring back at him. Sirius was sitting directly next to him, one hand on his knee, completely calm and collected. He had no idea that he was sitting next to a monster.

"Remus?" Sirius pressed, and Remus sighed, rubbing at his tired eyes with his sleeve.

"I'm... Fine, Sirius. I'm fine. I ate something bad, that's all. I'm okay." he said almost mechanically, wanting Sirius to go away so he could wallow in Misery in his own bunk, and he just did not want to talk. He closed his eyes and leaned away from Sirius, resting his face back on the cool toilet, which sent a shock of coldness through his body, which he relished. He didn't know if he'd even have enough energy to go to classes tomorrow, and that was starting to worry Remus immensely. He'd already missed... four days? Five days? He was going to be incredibly behind! Professor McGonagall had told him to come to her classroom tomorrow during lunch for Transfiguration help, and he was grateful for that. She'd taken to liking him a great deal more after seeing him after his first transformation, even going so far as to sit with him for hours and just talk with him while he'd been laying in the hospital wing, completely incapacitated with pain. Remus liked her too, but he hoped that she'd be able to catch him up in Transfiguration.

"Come on Rem, let's get you in bed." Sirius's voice interrupted Remus's thoughts, grinding onto what was already beginning to be a splitting migraine. Sirius linked an arm under Remus's arm and carefully pulled Remus to his feet, allowing Remus to lean against him for support and balance. Remus hissed under his breath as again Sirius brushed a sore spot on his back, but managed to keep back to furious animal anger that rose inside him as the wolf felt its body being hurt. Remus leaned heavily on Sirius as Sirius helped him out of the cold bathroom and into the cozy dormitory, clutching his best friends arm for balance. He sighed in relief when his bed, his wonderfully comfortable, private bed, with it's down comforter and it's velvet hangings and it's three pillows... His bed where he could lie down, and sleep, and relax in the luxury of HIS bed, after being in a foreign bed for the better of a week.

* * *

Remus's head slipped off his hand and smacked into the table with a loud thunk, causing the exhausted boy to start awake and look around wildly before realizing where he was. His entire Transfiguration class was staring at him like he'd grown three heads, and he shrank down in his seat, trying to make himself sink into the floor with embarrassment. He hadn't been able to sleep at all the night before- his leg had started to throb midway through the night, and it wouldn't let up enough for him to relax and go to sleep. Remus was ready to fall asleep on his feet, he was so tired. Professor McGonagall looked up from the papers she was grading and gave him a pitying glance. James patted his shoulder and gave him a smile.

"It's okay, mate. Everyone gets tired once in a while. Are you alright?" Remus nodded and gave James a tiny little smile, then turned to stare at the clock, counting down the seconds until the class was over. He had lunch next, but he was staying with Professor McGonagall to study and catch up on all the work he'd missed while recovering from his transformation. James had woken him up this morning after breakfast, telling Remus that he'd needed to sleep, so James had gotten him some breakfast. Sirius was "sick" in bed with a "head cold"- they all had a Potions paper due for Professor Slughorn that very day that Remus suspected Sirius hadn't done. James had been ever so kind to Remus today; getting him breakfast, making sure no one jostled into him in the hallways, so on and so forth. It was making Remus nervous- had James figured out something? Did he know about the werewolf curse? But James was really a very nice friend. Remus was glad to have met him.

The clock chimed to announce the arrival of twelve o'clock, and all the other students started gathering up their things and rushing out of the classroom, glad to be out of classes for an hour an eager to eat lunch. Remus carefully placed each textbook lovingly in his book bag, screwed the cap onto his ink bottle, and put his quill back into its case. James was standing by his desk, looking at him quizzically.

"C'mon Rem, I promised Sirius I'd bring him some lunch today! We need to go!" Remus sighed and picked up his book bag, gingerly holding it against his chest rather than putting the dreadfully heavy thing onto his shoulder.

"I'm not going down to lunch today- I'm staying here and catching up on all the work I've missed. Tell Sirius to feel better for me, please?" James nodded at Remus's quiet request, and with a quick smile, he left the Transfiguration classroom, papers flying out of his dangerously cluttered schoolbag. Remus, seeing that James was gone and the only person in the room was Professor McGonagall, dropped his charade of walking without a limp and came down heavily on his right leg, trying to avoid putting any pressure on his left knee, which would throb whenever he walked on it. He hobbled up to McGonagall's desk and sat down heavily in one of the desks right up next to her, breathing labored.

She looked up from her papers with a pitying expression and removed her glasses, folding her hands together. Remus moaned very quietly, glad he could have at least one period to not have to act around people, one period where he could acknowledge all his hurts and just let them be, instead of pretending they didn't exist, like he'd been doing with his knee the whole morning. He was also extremely glad that he'd have a period to talk to someone who knew the real him, the monster part of him, and was still not repulsed (at least not anymore.) He liked Prefessor McGonagall a great deal, and felt like he was able to talk to her about things that he was forbidden to talk about with Sirius or James for fear of his safety.

"How are you, Remus? Feeling alright?" the tone of her voice was so gentle and soft that Remus let out a shuddery sigh, squeezing his eyes shut tight so tears wouldn't leak out of them.  
_'Whats wrong with you?_' he asked himself in his head, suddenly rather confused. _'You've never cried so much in your life! Come to Hogwarts and you start sniveling like a little girl!'_ He rubbed his hands at his eyes furiously for a few seconds before feeling comfortable to talk to McGonagall again.

"I'm alright, Professor. I just had a bad moon. None are usually this... Bad." he trailed off at the end of his sentence, wincing at the discomfort talking put his ribs in. It was McGonagall's turn to sigh now, and she smoothed back her hair, which was in a sleek bun. There was a companionable silence between the teacher and the student for a few minutes, before Remus spoke.

"Professor, you're not... You're not disgusted by me, are you?" his voice sounded very timid, and he cursed himself for sounding weak and... Well, snivelly again!The professor looked up from her papers, eyes shocked from behind wire-rimmed spectacles.

"Disgusted? No child, I'm not disgusted by you. How could I be disgusted by you? You're a polite, courteous, kind young man, and it isn't your fault what happens to you. I know I was terribly cruel to you when I first met you, but..." she paused to wipe her spectacles on her shirt.  
"Try to understand Remus... All my life, I've been brought up to believe that werewolves are monsters, that they're horrible people, even when they're in human form." Remus gave a shudder at her words- he knew too well who the "horrible" werewolves were. Fenrir Greyback.

"It was hard to try and break something that I've believed in for over thirty years. I was working on it, because I saw how kind and sweet you were, and I couldn't understand how someone as young as you could be a werewolf. How could it be possible? But then I came with Poppy to get you after you'd... Transformed, and..." she stopped abruptly, covering her mouth with her hand. Remus reached out over the table and patted her other hand that was still on the desk.

"It's alright Professor, I'm used to it. It's not as bad as it used to be. And none of my moons are usually that bad. I haven't broken a leg since..." he bit his lip, trying to remember. It would have had to be during a moon where he'd had to go to St. Mungo's, because while his mother and his father were both accomplished healers, neither trusted themselves in mending a broken leg. For of the mending went wrong, Remus would walk with a dreadful limp for the rest of his days. There'd been that time when he was seven, where he'd almost lost a finger, another moon when he was eight where he'd ripped open his whole stomach, and one moon when he was nine where he'd broken his thigh bone. Remus winced just at the memory- it had been so excruciatingly painful that Remus had started screeching when his father tried to pick him up to take him to St. Mungo's. That had been horrible.

St. Mungo's in itself is horrible for Remus- whenever he had to go, all the people in the waiting room would move over to the other side of the waiting room, leaving just his family sitting in the uncomfortable chairs next to the receptionists desk. The healers at St. Mungo's would treat him worse than dirt, and Remus absolutely loathed having to be kept in that place that smelled of blood and disease and death. The werewolf ward was never truly cleaned properly, and the other werewolves there were older men who would berate Remus and make dirty jokes about his mum, or older women who didn't do anything but stare at the wall every day. It frightened Remus immensely, because he didn't want to end up like them one day. He wanted to have a job and a little house of his own and be happy for the rest of his days.

"Since I was nine." he finished his sentence, but continued on.

"It all depends on what environment the wolf is in, or, that's what my mum says. Whenever I had to transform in a new place, I'd hurt myself very badly. But when I'm in one place for a long time and I know my surroundings well, it isn't so bad. It's mostly just cuts and bruises and maybe a broken finger or two. But since this was my first moon in a new place, it was very bad. I'm sorry you had to see that." he added onto the end softly,

"Its quite alright Remus. It showed me that you can't help what you are, but that you're nothing but a normal little boy, who's only different for one day of the month. Can you forgive me for how I acted?" Remus nodded and felt a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach. He was glad that the professor liked him now- she was ever so kind, and it was dreadfully nice to have someone to talk to about things that he wasn't able to tell Remus or Sirius.

"Prefessor?" he blurted out, and he just wanted to thank her for how happy she'd make him by giving him someone to talk to.

"Thank you. I've never had someone who I could talk to about my problem beside my parents. It's just ever so nice to be able to get it off my chest." McGonagall smiled, and replied

"I'm glad you feel that way Remus, I'm happy to have you come and chat with me. Whatever makes you feel alright."

"Professor, thank you for accepting me into Hogwarts." he said out of nowhere, and she looked at him quizzically.

"I've never been able to act normal. The only people I've ever really talked to before I came here were my parents, the healers at St. Mungo's, and the doctors my parents would take me to. But when I'm here, I can feel... normal again. I've made my first friends I've ever had, and they like me. People like me! Because when I'm with Sirius and James, I can act like Remus, the quiet, studious little first year who is their best friend. I'm very good at acting, Professor." he finished solemnly, McGonagall opened her mouth to say something, but at that moment the door to her classroom was flung open by a breathless James Potter.

"Professor! Sirius.. fighting with... Snape... Lake... Quick hurry!" he panted out, waving his arm for the professor to follow him. She got up and strode over to James, bushings past him and hurrying down the stone corridor to the staircase that would take her down to the first floor. James waved hurriedly at Remus, who got up and winced slightly at the twinge of pain he got in his knee for sitting for so long.

"Come on Rem! Sirius got into a fight with Severus Snape down by the lake, and Snape started cursing him! Now they're just fist-fighting, but I think something bad happened to Sirius!" James started to run, but stopped abruptly and bent over, breathing hard.

"I think you better walk for now..." Remus said cautiously, putting a hand onto his friends back. James nodded, standing up and taking a deep breath before continuing to walk. Remus thanked Merlin for James's lack of air- he would not have been able to keep up with the boy if he'd been sprinting again. Suddenly, something hit Remus.

"Wasn't Sirius up in the dormitory, before lunch? He was working on his paper!" James nodded, but waved his hand impatiently.

"Oh, I know. During Charms, that little runt we share the dorm with ratted him out to Slughorn because he was trying to finish Slughorn's paper. He has two weeks worth of detentions, and he had to come down for lunch. He's going to be in class for the rest of the day. But anyway, we ate lunch then walked down to the lake to see if we could find the Giant Squid. But Serverus Snape, that greasy bloke in Slytherin, was there, and he started making all these cracks about Sirius's family and how they were all dark wizards. That got Sirius really pissed, so he pulled out his wand, but before he could hex Snape, Snape hexed him. So, I ran up to get McGonagall."

Remus started to walk a little faster, pushing his knee as hard as he could without showing a limp. It sounded like Sirius was in a lot of trouble.


	7. A Curious Encounter

**AN: Quick little update for everyone today! I ONLY HAVE TWO MORE DAYS OF SCHOOL! WHHOOOO! THAT'S AMAZING! And then I have semi-formal, and then I'm done! It's truly a beautiful thing... :)  
Yeeahh, soo, I just wantedto get a quick little chapter up, it's not that long, but I hope everyone enjoys it!  
Thanks to TechNomaNcer28 (it's great to hear from you again babe! :D), The Raven Necromancer, BeautyIsOverRated, and Kyandua for reviewing! I love you guys!  
Looooooooveeeee,  
Alex  
XOXOXO**

* * *

**_"Sticks and stones may break our bones,  
but words can break our hearts."_**

* * *

**A Curius Encounter with the Slytherin Kind**

Remus waited for James to catch his breath avian, but the boy flew by him when they reached the end if the stairs. Remus let out a soft sigh of relief, and glancing around furtively to make sure no one was looking, immediately started hobbling along toward the entrance down to the lake, his bad knee quivering like jello whenever he put weight down on it. He poked his head out of the door and glanced around worriedly, trying to catch a glimpse of where his friend and teacher had gone. James was perhaps twenty yards from the lake, hurtling down the steep grassy hill that Hogwarts was perched on as fast as he could without tripping and falling, an Professor McGonagall was much farther behind, cautiously placing her footing so she wouldn't slip.

Remus, with his exceptional eyesight, could make out Sirius and Severus Snape fighting down by the lake in exquisite detail, but he doubted that James or even the professor could see them as clearly. He watched as Sirius, who was clearly the stronger of the two boys, roll Severus onto his back and sit on top of him, delivering a hard punch to the Slytherin's already abnormally large nose. James had reached them by now, and was trying to yank Sirius off of the other boy. Remus sucked in a deep breath and started shuffling down the steps, careful to place each foot in just the right spot so he wouldn't loose his balance and tumble down the flight of stone steps.

His knee screamed in protest every time he placed it down on the ground to push off of another step, and Remus was breathing hard by the time he got down to the eleventh step and lightly stepped onto the wet grass. He moaned in relief, for the ground was spongy and moist, the grass soft and cushiony, so unlike the hard stone floors of Hogwarts, and it relaxed his knee as if he'd taken a huge flask of pain-relieving potion. He was able to start walking at a steady pace, and he hurried down the hill as fast as his leg would let him, worry catching in his throat for Sirius.

How had Snape hexed him? It was obviously not something serious, for Sirius had been well enough to be able to punch Snape and keep fighting with him, but it had to have been serious enough for James to need Professor McGonagall. He made it almost three quarters of the way to the lake before a tremendous thump shook the ground, and Remus jumped and tensed, whipping his head around to locate the source of the sound. The Whomping Willow stood tall and imposing, maybe two hundred feet from Remus. It's huge branches were waving and swinging angrily, and Remus saw a tiny bird flitting in and out among them, desperate for an escape route from the crazed tree.

It looked so different then it had when he'd been lead there in the darkening evening by Madame Pomfery, but Remus still shivered and hurried away, not even sparing the tree a second glance. To him, there would always be something sinister and sour-smelling about that tree. Something evil, something that he pushed to the back of his mind as often as possible. He shook his head quickly, putting his transforming out of his mind- it took up enough of his time as it is, without him worrying and fretting about something that was inevitable. He kept up a steady pace for the last couple of feet before he reached the group by the lakeshore. Sirius was standing with his back to Remus, shoulders pulled back defiantly, light blue tee-shirt stained with mud and green smudges of grass, along with what Remus was almost positive to be droplets of blood.

His stomach rolled, and he clamped a hand over his nose before the stench of the blood could reach his sensitive nose. The smell drove the wolf crazy, especially if it was fresh blood, and Remus did NOT need to go crazy at this moment in time. He forced himself to breathe through his mouth, releasing his hand from his nose, testing himself. The wolf snarled in the back of his mind, but otherwise didn't do much else. If he kept breathing through his mouth, he was safe. He focused back on Sirius and Professor McGonagall, who seemed to be so angry she was shaking. James sidled up next to Remus very casually, nudging Remus elbow to get him to look on the ground. Severus Snape was lying beside Madame Pomfery's feet, one eyes swollen shut, nose crooked and gushing blood. Remus closed his eyes for a brief moment, willing his senses not to react, mentally shouting "STAY CALM! STAY CALM!" to the wolf. To Remus's intense surprise and pleasure, it did, with not even a growl. Maybe it had sensed it had caused enough trouble for one month?

"Mr. Black!" McGonagall's voice was filled with venom and fury, so very different from the soft, caring tone she'd used with Remus earlier.

"How could you disgrace Gryffindor house and yourself in this way? By attacking a fellow student? You deserved everything he gave you, and then some! Never in all my years at Hogwarts have I seen a first year act so inappropriately! Fifty points from Gryffindor! And be glad that I didn't take any more off!" Remus's shoulders slumped with disappointment. It wasn't even three weeks into the school year, and already Gryffindor was to be loads behind with regard to points. And Sirius hadn't even started the fight, from what James had said. Snape had started insulting Remus's friend first. His attack wasn't unprovoked, and in Remus's opinion, it was well justified. If someone had insulted his family, he would have fought them too, werewolf strength be damned.

"But, Professor!" Sirius cried indignantly, clenching his hands into fists at his sides.

"No buts! I do not care who started it, I only care that a student from my house assaulted another student! In addition to the points, you will have detention every day with me, for a week. You have to think about the consequences of your actions, Mr. Black!" She gave him one last shake of her head, then turned around and bent over, taking Severus Snape by the arm and hoisting him up.

"Up you go, Mr. Snape. You can't be hurt that bad- you were perfectly fine to be punching Mr. Black. Now just hold still, I'll fix your nose... Episky..." Rwmus heard a sick snapping sound, and then a howl of pain from Snape. He looked back over at the Slytherin boy with the corner of his eye, still prepared to run away if the wolf scented the blood. Professor McGonagall was busying herself by siphoning the dried blood off of Snape's pale face. Remus breathed a relieved sigh, and turned to see James standing next to him, face tinged slightly green, one hand covering his mouth as if to hold back vomit.

"I... I'm not good with blood." he said in a weak voice, squeezing his eyes shut tight behind smudged glasses while Remus bit back a loud "HA!" of ironic laughter. James hated blood- why didn't he come down to the Whomping Willow once a month sand see what his best friend was capable of? Sirius moved back to stand by Remus, giving Snape a wide berth, and Remus barely held back a giggle when he saw his face. A layer of fine brown hair covered his face, and whiskers were sprouting from his cheeks. Snape had somehow managed to turn Sirius into a cat!

Sirius turned around to find Remus giggling at him, and furrowed his eyebrows, about to deliver a stinging retort, but when he saw Remus meant him no ill-will, he joing in on the laughter, starting with a little snicker, and then growing into full blown wheezes of mirth. Remus looked up through streaming eyes to find Professor McGonagall staring at Sirius with dissaproval, and he quickly shut his mouth and stood up striaght, realizing that now was perhaps not the best time to be laughing. It was a rather serious matter at hand.

"You know, I've half a mind to make you go into school like that, Sirius. Remus, make sure he's sees Madame Pomfery before the end of the day, please. Come, Severus. Let's get you looked at." with one last cold glance, the professor gathered up her robes and strode up the hill with confident, measured strides. Snape waited for the professor to get out of earshot, and then fized Sirius with a vicous stare of pure loathing. His sallow face was pinched, nose wrinkled as if something vile smelling was right under it. His black eyes glittered maliciously, and Remus could _feel_ the hate coming off of him in waves. He had never seen sch a face on an eleven year old, a boy Remus's own age! Sirius returned the glare, grey eyes narrowing and lip curling (Remus had to admit, he looked rather ferocious, with the whispers and fur and all), fists clenching at his side. Remus and James stood side by side, silent, watching the battle of glares between the two other boys, as they each tried to out-stare each other with scathing looks that could have fried marshmellows. If looks could kill, Sirius would be dead and buried ten times over. Finally, Snape moved, thrusting his fists inside his patched robes.

"I'll get you back one day, Black." he nearly spat, lookig down his nose at Sirius. "Your stupid Gryffindor buddies won't be around forever. You're nothing but a filthy little blood traitor!"

With those words, Sirius went to lunge at Snape again, but Remus was faster. He easily looped an arm around Sirius's waste and prevented him from doing any more damage to the Slytherin. Sirius was nearly apoplectic with rage, unintelligible mutters coming out of his throat, teeth clenched tightly together. He didn't seem to notice that Remus, a much smaller and slimmer boy than he, was holding back his entire body with only one hand.

"I think you better go up to the infimary," Remus told Snape, not wanting Sirius to get into any more trouble tha he actually was. This close to Snape, he noticed for the first time how truly large the boys nose was. Sirius or James were always going on about how it looked like a dwarfs nose, and Remus did see it, at least a little.  
A little part of him was actually kind of concerned for Snape, for the other boys snozz was still oozing blood and looked quite painful to the touch.

"Go get that nose looked at." Now, Remus was not a spiteful or a nasty person, and he hadn't meant for the comment to purposefully wound Snape. But the other boys eyes went wide, pasty skin lightening to a unnatractive shade of pale grey, nostrils flaring unpleasently.

Behind Remus, James let out a loud gwaffaw of laughter, remembering all the times where he had made fun of Snape's overly large nose behind his back, and now someone (however unintentinaol the comment was) had just made fun of Snape's nose, right to his face. Remus blushed, for he hadn't meant to humiliate Snape, but the damage was already done.

Snape grinded his teeth together and spit right on Remus's cheek, nearly shaking with rage.

"How dare you, you dirty little mudblood!" With that curious word, he turned tail and fled, narrowly missing James as James shouted and tried to tackle him to the ground. Remus was very confused. Hows, he'd heard nearly every derogartoy slur about werewolves that the wizarding world could think of while in St. Mungo's but not once had he ever hear the word 'mudblood'. Whatever could _that_ mean?

Sirius struggled out of Remus's slack grip and wheeled around to face him, eyes filled with rage and alarm.

"Merlin Remus, are you alright?"

Remus calmy wiped Snape's spit off his cheek with his robes then cocked his head at Sirius inquisitively.

"Why shouldn't I be? I didn't get the detention, did I?" Sirius's mouth dropped open in a round "O" of horror.

"You mean..." James trailed off, eyebrows lifting up so high that they dissapeared into his messy fringe of hair. Remus was not very confused by their reactions. Why was that word so bad?

"What's so bad about mudblood?" he said, and both James and Sirius physically winced, exchanging aglance of worry. They turned to face him together, their faces twin masks of worry, except one with a little too much resemblance to Cora, the Lupin's brown tabby cat back at home.

"Jesus, don't say it so loud!" James hissed, glancing around furtively as if to make sure noone heard him, evern though the three boys were down by the lake, and every other student was going to be at lunch for at least another half an hour.

"Blimey Rem, you really don't know!" Sirius shook his head adly, glaring daggers up at Snape's retreating figure.

"That was unforgivable! The little bastard ought to be..." Here, Sirius added a string of colorful vocabulary that left Remus wondering two things- A, how did Sirius know all those words, and B, could Remus possibly wash them out from inside his brain.

"Listen Rem, that's..."James paused and sucked in a deep breath.

"That's one of the worst things a wizard can call another wizard. It's really derogatory- it is basically saying that because you've got muggle blood in you, you aren't as good as a real wizard. You've got dirty, tainted blood. Well... _muddy_ blood. To some wizards, having mugle blood is having the equivalent of having mud run through your viens."

_"Great." _thought Remus. _'I can add that onto my ever-growing list of slurs that people can call me.' _

_"_It's a horrible word." James continued. "Really horrible. My parents banned it from my property. Like literally, banned it. If a person within a one mile radius of my house syas the word, they're immediately Apporated to my dads office at the Ministry, where Dad chews them out for a good fifteen minutes, then fines them fifty Galleons. I think it should be banned completely from everywhere!" Sirius nodded in agreement, resting an arm on Remus's shoudlers.

"You're not even full muggle, are you? Your pa's a wizard, right?"

Remus nodded numbly, completely blown out of the water that someone would make up such a cruel name just to make fun of muggle-borns. How could someone insult his neautiful, brave, strong mother? She was more of a witch and more proper then Severus Snape would ever be, because she would never spit on another human being imply because of their bloodline. Once again, Remus was flabberghasted at the borrible names some wizards were able to create for members of their society. He wondered idly if that meant he would be doubly shunned- once for being a werewolf, second, for being a muggleborn?

James put another comforting arm around Remus's shoulders, along with Sirius's arms, and again, Remus wondered. Would these two boys, who openly eccepted Remus's quirks and his abscences with nary a word, be able to keep his secret?

* * *

When Remus would look back on it, he would always declare that the run in with Snape was the start of the Marauders. Sirius, furious at Snape for making him have detention with McGonagall for an entire week, and positivelky STEAMING at the way Snape insulted Remus, decided that he was to get Snapoe back in the most humiliating, most public was possible. He, James, and Remus were going to brew a FireFace potion, a potion that when drunken, caused the drinken to develop horrible, flaming red pimples that sometimes lingered for months and could only be taken care of it the drinker had a substantial amount of bubotuber pus available. They were to slip the potion into Snape's morning goblet, and watch what happened from the safety of the Gryffindor table.

The boys were to need several ingridents, most of which, including moskworth, oil of vingirle, next eyes, and ground up billywig wings, that they'd already pilfered from Professor Slughorn's Plentiful stores. Technically, James had nicked the ingredients, sneaking into the back room and stuffing everything under his robes while Sirius and Remus distracted the enormous professor with the walrus mustache. The only things they still needed were ballroot, fire salamander eggs, and birch sap, all three of which were only available through the Forbidden Forest. The potion needed to be brewed for at least three hours before-hand, so the three boys were going into the forest today during lunch to sneak out all the ingredients they needed. Sirius was intent on getting Snape back the next morning, and he was intent on finishing the potion that very night. Remus, who had absolutely no intention of going into the Forbidden Forest, was going gto be lookout, while Sirius and James ventured in to collect their ingredients.

Remus heart was in his throat as they casually walked out of the Great Hall when all the other students were getting ready to eat lunch. They broke into a jog as they neared the side entrance down by the lake. He couldn't believe how much of a rush breaking the law was! Remus had never felt so excited or so thrilled by rebelling. Usually, he was the quiet, studious one of his friends. Sirius walked out of the school with his shoulders up and stright, looking as dignified as he possibly could. As soon as James gave him the "OK" sign, he let out a loud whoop, cusing Remus to smile in amusment of his childish behavior. He was lucky to have such friends as Sirius and James.


	8. Potions and Payback

**AN_: Hey, quick update! Enjoy, review, and have a gret weekend!  
OOOHH, much love to the famazingTechNomaNcer28 for the wonderful cover picture! It's beautiful! Thanks to everyone who reviewd the last chapter- I love you all!  
Remember to vote on my "Favorite Couple" polll!  
Love you!  
Love,  
Alex  
XOXOXO  
PS: Just saying, I AM NOT HINTING AT SLASH (yet :3) ANYWHERE IN THIS CHAPTER! It's supoposed to be an introduction to something. :) And THANK YOU to my dear Kyandua for the lovely ideas :) Love you babe! **

* * *

_"What goes around comes back around."  
(Best Thing I Never Had, Beyonce)  
(No, I am NOT hinting at Snape/Remus. It's just supposed to mean that if you give bad karma, it's going to come back and bite you in the ass)_

* * *

**Potions and Payback**

The three boys stopped in front of Hagrid's huge hut, and James and Sirius pulled large sacks out of underneath their cloaks, giving Remus identical twin grins of evil pleasure. Remus gave Sirius a tiny grin, and Sirius slung an arm around Remus's shoulders, bumping his hip against Remus's.

"It's okay Rem, everything will be fine. If we get caught, we'll just say that it was only me and James together, and that you weren't involved. Are you alright?" he said softly, mistaking Remus's shaking of jittery excitement for nervousness. Remus patted Sirius's hand, grateful that he had friends who would risk getting in trouble just to keep Remus out of trouble. Sirius gave his shoulder a quick squeeze, then backed away to stand by James. James pulled off his glasses and wiped them off, holding them up into the sun to make sure they were clean.

"Okay Rem. Sirius and I would be in there for twenty minutes, thirty minutes TOPS. If you get nervous or someone sees, book it back up to the castle and wait in the dormitory. We'll finish the potion tonight, after dinner."

"It's going to be bloody sweet!" Sirius crowed, winking at Remus, then charging off into the forest, pausing where the last few rays of light started to die in the densely-leaved trees. James gave Remus an encouraging smile, then charged odd after his friend, both boys disappearing into the lush overgrowth in a matter of seconds. Remus walked up a few paces to sit on a large, flat rock in the ground. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes, sighing as he felt the sunlights soothing fingers brush across his skin. It was very relaxing and very sleepy, and Remus started to have difficulty keeping his eyes open. He would start wide awake, gradually start to drift off, the start awake again. He was just so comfortable, and five minutes of drowsing couldn't hurt him, could it?

He was about to drop off when something huge and heavy came down on his shoulder, and he jerked awake, the wolf instantly on guard for the threat of an attack. He flipped over and landed on the ground with a thud, rolling over and up into a compact crouch, lips retracting back from sharp teeth as he let out a vicious, involuntary snarl. The enormous person before him backed away slowly, gigantic hands held up as a method of surrender.

"Easy there Remus. S'only me." Hagrid gave Remus a gap-toothed smile, completely undeterred that he was mere feet from a pissed werewolf. Remus straightened up, embarrassed, and held out his hand for Hagrid to shake.

"Hello Hagrid, how are you today? I'm... I'm dreadfully sorry. You startled me a bit." Remus told the giant man, staring at him apologetically.

"S'fine, lad. Can't help what you are. Care to come in for a rock cake or a sip o' hot chocolate? I just learned 'ow to bake 'em this week." Remus dithered, looking back anxiously at the Forbidden Forest. Would Hagrid get suspicious if he didn't go? He finally decided to go with the enormous game-keeper, figuring that he'd be able to see out of the window in Hagrid's hut to keep an eye on the forest. He also felt as though he should spend some time with the giant boy, who was probably only eight or nine years older than Remus himself and already had to live alone. Hagrid beamed at Remus and clapped him so hard on the back that Remus's knees buckled and he nearly fell over onto the the floor from the impact.

"Oh, sorry, sorry..." Hagrid muttered absentmindedly, grabbing Remus's shoulder with one hand and picking Remus up, setting him down on the ground and dusting off his back.

"Comin'?" Hagrid asked excitedly, starting to make his way back to his cabin. Remus nodded, and followed him, carefully stepping around a pile of something that looked suspiciously like the feces of a very large a animal. Remus looked back at the frost quickly, and shuddered, anxiety in his throat for Sirius and James. What if they got seriously hurt in there? He pushed the negative thought out of his mind. He had to think positive and not be such a downer all the time! Thinking positive would keep him worry free. He'd reached Hagrid's hut by now and Hagrid held the door open for him.

He walked through the Huge wooden door, (which was nearly the height of three more Remus's, all standing on the others heads. Remus couldn't deny that for such a small-looking cabin, it was quite roomy and clean. There was an enormous bed in one corner, occupied by a multicolored, patchwork quilt that looked as though it had been sewn by hand. Hagrid had a large rocking chair in one corner, a big wooden table in the middle, and several shelves filled with all sorts of different things, a barrage of scents that assaulted Remus's sensitive nose like a tidal wave. He doubled over and let out a loud snort, sneezing four or five times in quick succession.

"You alrigh'?" Hagrid asked with concern, and Remus gave one last sniff, standing up, eyes watering.

"I'm fine. I just... I just have a really sensitive nose, and those.. spices over there irritated it. I'm fine." Hagrid smiled at him again, going over to one of the shelves and grabbing two mugs. The mug itself had to be as big, if not bigger, tha Remus's own head. He poured some tea into them and set them down on the table with a loud thud, causing some of the hot water to slosh over the edges and onto the table. Hagrid waved oput a hand, motioning for Remus to sit down, and Remus did, carefully sliding out a chair from the table and hoping up onto the chair. When he sat, his feet did not even reach the floor.

"Do you like Hogwarts so far?" Hagrid asked eagerly, smiling aat Remus over an enormus mug of steaming tea.

"I love it. "Remus answered simply, and it was the truth. He loved more than anything else in the world. For once, he had friends. Good, loyal, tustworthy friends. He had nice teachers, an incredible healer for the full moons, and he was able to learn! Remus greatest joy in life had to be the abilitly to leanr and mature with knowledge. He simply loved to learn about Goblin Wars (one of the reasons he was the only student awake in Professor Binns's class), to be able to practice learning spells and important incantations in charms, and to everything in between. He woulod stay up every night reading one of his textbooks, too fascinated by the information he found to put it down. James and Sirius gently teased him for his book-wormness, but Remus just loved books!

"Aye, I loved it too. Great school." Hagrid said fondly, sighing with the sigh of someone who was remembering an old memory. Remus reached for his mug of tea, but jerked his hand back, letting out a hiss of pain. The mug was wooden, but the handle had to be madee out of what Remus assumed to be silver, judging from his rapidly forming blister and the heat that saurrounded it.

"Ehh?" Hagrid snorted, Remus's exclamation of pain drawing him out of his reverie.  
"Blimey, you jus' can't get a break 'ere, can ya?" Hagrid ssaid sadly, reaching over the table and taking Remus small hand in his own, flipping it over carefully to examine the blisters and red marks on his palm. Remus clenched his teeth together against the pain, nodding let go of his hand, getting and going over to a stone basin in the coner. He pulled out a cloth and handed itr to Remus, who wrapped it around his hand gratefully.

He was abpout to say thank you to the huge man before something caught his eye. Froim Hagrid's table, he could see out the window, and he saw James and Sirius running out of the forest, grins on their faces, through Hagrid's polka-dotted curtains.

"I'm dreadfully sorry Hagrid, I must go." He said abruptly, leaving Hagrid staring after his retreating figure with confusion.

* * *

Remus let out another enormus sneeze, startling James out of his meticulous counting for what had to be the fifth time.

"Rem!" James shouted indignantly, throwing the thistle leaves he was counting on the chopping board and glaring at Remus.

"What is with you? I have to finish coutning these! Please, STOP SNEEZING!" Sirius giggled beside Remus, and Remus turned to glare at him, which shut the black-haired boy up prertty quickly. Remus was utterly miserably. The mere scent of the thistles was driving his nose insane, as were the fumes of the ragworth and other vile ingrdients that James was brewing over a toilet in the third floor desereted bathroom. He suspected it was because of all the herbs and things were irritating his nose, much like those jars filled with whatever had been earlier in Hagrid's hut.

"Sorry! I think I may be all-all-all..." He quickly covered his nose and mouth with his sleeze, his looud sneeze muffled by the fabric. That sneeze hadn't seemed to bother James, so Remus sniffed and wiped his streaming eyes on his robes collar.

"Allergic?" Sirius looked at him sceptically.

"Whjo ever is allergic to _thistles_?" Remus tensed up automatically, praying that Sirius wouldn't read to deep into his "allergy". The boy was right- whoever was allergic to thistles?

"Maybe it's not thistles." Remus snapped irritably, quite uncharictaristic for him, for his worry of discovery coming out in an annoyed tone. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Jeeze Rem, I was just joking. Way to bite my head off." With a huff, Sirius folded his arms over his chest and looked back at James. Remus winced at the thought of how much the wolf _did _want to bite Sirius's head off at that moment.

"Forty exactly!" James crowed suddenly, holding up the thistle leaves with pride. With ceremonious flourish, he dumped them into the bubbling caulron, which had begun to emit a very noxious smell (not unlike old socks) and was a sickly green color. Remus wasn't quite sure if potions were supposed to look _or _smell like that, but James seemed to know what he was doing, so Remus just sat back and let James and Sirius do all the work. Knowing him, he'd be measuring something out, sneeze on it, and have everything blow away everywhere.

"Alright, now I need to add three next eyes, ugghh," James paused to shiver with revulsion, "And stir it three times clockwise, one time counter clockwise, and then we all spit in it. "

"What?" Remus and Sirius asked at the same time, Remus looking horrified (Snape was going to be drinking that!), Sirius looking absolutely delighted. James winked at Sirius.

"I'm just kidding Remus. Though the slimy git deserves worse than that for what he called you..." James muttered darkly, scooting backwards on his butt over to bag where they'd had all their ingredients. He held up the jar with the newt eyes and groaned.

"What?" Sirius asked curiosuly, craning his neck over Remus's shoulder to see James had found.

"There's only two eyes in here! And we can't go back and get more, because Slughorn almost caught us last time!" James ground his teeth together, but Sirius looked completely nonchalant.

"So? Just put the two in there- I'm sure it will be fine. It can't do anything _that _bad to him." Remus turned his head to look at Sirius, shocked. Even Remus, coming from a mixed heritage, knew that you must never, ever, ever make a potion unless you had all the ingrdients. Something always tended to go terribly wrong. With Sirius's pureblood upbringing, Remus couldn't believe that he'd even suggest to do such a thing. What if Snape wasd permanently difigured? Even though the Slytherin had said some nasty things, Remus wouldn't wish that on anyone!

"I don't know mate..." James hesitantly said, looking over at the bubbling cauldron apprehensively.  
"I've heard about things going horribly wrong when you didn't use the proper ingrdients!" Remus thanked Merlin that James was on his side. But a wicked grin crossed over James face.

"Anything that will go horribly wrong would be too good for him!" He dumped the two newt eyes into the potion, which fizzed and hissed and made a sick sloshing sound. Remus looked at his two friends anxiously. Should he say something? Snape didn't deserve something as horrible as a mis-brewed potion. In a moment of cowardice, Remus decided to just let it be. What could he do? Try and convice James and Sirius to do something otherwise when they were already firmly set on doing something else? Sirius was more stubborn than a mile, and twice as smart. He'd fine some other way to get back at Snape, Remus told himself. And that way would be doubly awful and humiluiating because Sirius wouldn't have Remus there to tell him something was too dangerous.

* * *

Remus, Sirius, and James burst in to the common room, giddy and floating on cloud 9 from their success at potion brewing. Remus rubbed his itchy nose anxiously- he would have to talk to Professor McGonagall about what to do for potions, since they obviously irritated his senses so much. He hadn't realized that his first time brewing an actual potion could go so dreadfully wrong.

His heart lept a little- maybe he would be able to drop our of potions forever! It was easily his worst and least favorite subject, so it would really be no skin off of his nose. Smug now that he had figured out a legitimate excuse to drop out of potions, Remus resolved to talk to Professor McGonagall about it after Transfiguration tomorrow.

The common room was moderately full with students enjoying their Friday night off, wanting to party since there was no school on Saturday or Sunday. Older students occupied the couches and the corners of the room, while the younger students were all crammed at the two wooden tables, watching the sixth and seventh years with admiration and hero-worship in their eyes. Sirius spotted an empty spot on one of the couches by the stone fireplace and he dragged Remus and James over to it, where Remus collapsed gratefully onto the plush couch, limbs welcoming the soft fabric.

He was sitting next to Connor MacIntyre, a seventh year boy who was particularly kind to Remus and had given him directions a few times to get to class. Remus poked his head out to say hello to the older boy, but stopped dead in his tracks, eyes growing huge as he took in the scene in front of him. Connor was snogging someone, which wasn't unusual, since all the seventh years snogged once in a while, but what blew Remus out o water was that the other person was a BOY. Connor was kissing Ethan Mirewood, another seventh year, who happened to be the star Keeper and practical jokester of Gryffindor. Remus's jaw nearly fell onto the floor, he was so shocked.

How could they be doing that in public! Why wasn't anyone in the common room freaking out? There had been a homosexual couple that had lived on the Lupin's block for a number of years, but one day they started kissing outside of their house, and one of Remus's muggle neighbors called the police. Now, Remus knew it was none of his business, but he couldn't help staring and feeling just a tiny bit freaked. Wasn't that considered abnormal? Ethan's hand slid up Connor's back, pulling the boy closer, and Remus let out a squeak, causing the two boys to break apart. Connor turned around to see Remus's incredibly shocked and bewildered expression and burst out into laughter.

"Hello Remus!" he said between laughs, wrapping an arm around Ethan and yanking him down so he was splayed across Connor's lap.

"Say hello, Ethan." Connor said sternly, and Ethan grinned at Remus, responding with a cheeky "YO!" Connor smiled and pecked him on the cheek, causing Remus to scooch ever so slightly away from them, hitting into Sirius, who turned around to see what was happening.

"Bit shocked, eh Remus?" Connor asked kindly, covering Ethan's mouth with his hand as Ethan started to giggle. Remus managed a small nod, and Sirius, noticing what had happened, started laughing as well.

"You're half muggle, right?" Connor asked, fighting to keep a smirk off his face. Remus managed another nod. "They don't do same gender relationships, do they?" Remus shook his head vigorously. They indeed did not. Here, Sirius butted in.

"Ohh Rem. In the wizarding world, everythings so much more open! Muggles are so stuffy. It's not weird here, it's actually accepted. See?" Sirius moved his head quickly and kissed Remus right on the mouth, earning a howl of laughter from James, who nearly fell off the edge of the couch in mirth. Remus couldn't do anything but sit there, dumbstruck. Sirius had just kissed him. Sirius had just kissed him? The thought alone was too much for his already fried little brain. Connor nudged him gently in the ribs, a smile on his face.

"It's okay, Remus. Sirius, go easy on him! You nearly made him faint! Here, it's not strange for people to do that. Wizards believe that you should be able to love whoever you want to love, no matter what their gender is." Remus just nodded slowly. How could the wizard world be so accepting of something that the muggle world looked down on, but they couldn't be accepting of what he was?


	9. The Prank of a Certain Slytherin

**AN": Helllooooooooooooooooooo everyone! Oh my lord I've abaandoned this for way too long :( It's been a while. I'm trying to start writing this again now, because its probably my favoritest thing I've written. Soooo... yeaaahhhh., **

**OOOOhhh the AMAZINGLY FANTABULOUS end of this chapter was written by the lovely Kyandua- I highly suggest you check her out and spam her with reviews as a thank you! Ky, I love you to bits and pieces. Again, thanks a bajillion trillion million for helping me in my dire time of need! You indeed are the best person in the entire world :)**

Yess... so... I hope eveyone enjoys this! :)

**Much love to all,  
Alex  
XOXOXO**

(I'm sorry i just have to write like 3 more words because its almost at 5 thousand words :3 soo ayayayayayadfv sdsakjfhakjd sd,fbmasdns,ad asdjfdsnjfds nfewhfsdnsdfn potato.)

* * *

_"All my life I've been good_  
_but now_  
_I'm thinking whooooa_  
_What the hell?"_

_**The Prank of a Certain Slytherin**_

Remus woke up the next morning at around four, with the same jittery excitement in his stomach that he'd felt down by the Forbidden Forest. He couldn't wait to see what was going to happen at breakfast! He rolled over in his bed and poked his head out of the curtains, trying to see what the weather would be like for the day. To his dismay, rain lashed at the castle walls relentlessly, hammering at the windows and darkening the black sky. Remus sighed and rolled back into his bed, drawing his curtains closed and pulling his covers around him tight. He'd wished it would just stop raining! He knew that Hogwarts was in one of the rainiest areas of Europe, but dear lord, the amount of rain they had been getting was unhealthy.

He rolled over onto his side and curled up into a ball, humming in pleasure at the cozy warmth from his sheets. He sneezed once, then jumped as someone snorted loudly in the bed across from him.

"Rem?" Sirius asked the air quietly, yawning and pulling the curtains away from the edge of Remus's bed. His hair was spiked up in every direction, But his eyes were wide open and clear. Remus cocked his head in confusion- how was Sirius wide awake at this hour? Usually it took forever for James and Remus to wake him up at a normal hour for breakfast.

"Whats up Sirius? Have you gotten any sleep?" Remus asked softly, sitting up in bed and folding his hands in his lap neatly. Sirius shook his head and clambered into Remus's bed, kicking the hangings shut behind him. He pulled at the end of Remus's sheets and stuck his feet underneath them, pulling them around his waist and pushing Remus's feet aside. Remus smiled slightly, then looked at Sirius again. Sirius let out another enormous yawn.

"Nahh. I've.. I've just got a little homesickness, I think." Sirius tugs at a tuft of hair and stares at Remus with those piercing eyes that so intrigued Remus on the day that the two first met.

"Not that I miss my mum or my dad, but I miss Regulus and my room." Remus patted his knee sympathetically. He knew what it was like to be homesick- he missed his mother and father and their little house tremendously. What he couldn't understand was how Sirius could feel homesick for a family that he hated. Before he could ask Sirius, the other boy continued.

"I cant stand my mum, and you know it. But, I miss Reg. He's two years younger than me, and still cute and small." Sirius paused to smile fondly in memory.

"I just miss having him around and being able to play with him, I guess. Do you have a younger sibling?"

Remus shook his head sadly. A brother or sister had always been a wish of his, but a wish that could never come true. Given the amount of time his parents spent trying to keep Remus healthy, there would be no time for another child, and it simply wouldn't be fair.  
Sirius sighed.

"I guess you wouldn't get it, then. I just don't want him to turn all mean and 'Black' because I'm not there to remind him to have fun." Sirius grinned at Remus, some of his usual good humor returned, followed by the almost instantaneous frown.

"And I miss my room. It had these little constellations that would float near the ceiling at night- my cousin Andromeda charmed them for me- and they were all the ones that my family gets our names from. Sirius, Regulus, Orion, Andromeda, Narcissa, Bellatrix, and even a few that I didn't know. Ohh.. It was so pretty Rem! I loved going to bed at night and looking up at it. Andromeda tried to teach me the charm, but I can only make my constellation." He frowns, and picks up his wand from Remus's bed, giving his wrist a fancy flick and murmuring a charm that Remus doesn't quite catch. A delicate silver wisp slips out of the end of his wand, twirling up above both boys heads and separating out into a mini constellation of twinkling little stars. Remus stares at the shining stars with amazement. It sends muted light around his drawn bed-hangings, illuminating Sirius's slightly smiling face as he gazes at the stars. Remus raises one slender finger to touch the miniature glittering stars, but as soon as his hand comes in contact with them, they vanish with a loud CRACK, not unlike the noise of a diapperating wizard. Sirius winces at a loud yelp from the bed across from Remus's, and James's distinctive muttering is heard from in the corner. He rips the curtains away from Remus's bed, hazel eyes wide behind crooked glasses, his hair so wild that it resembled a dandelion.

"what the bloody hell was that? I thought someone apparated in here to kill me!" Sirius sniggered at James's frantic face, which caused James in turn to start laughing, all his original anger and fear disappearing like a rainbow after a storm. Sirius scooted over on Remus's bed and patted the spot next to him. James smiled big and hopped up on the bed, drawing the hangings behind him and cramming in next to the other two boys. Remus knocked knees with James and winced as he knee protested at the awkward motion. He brushed tawny hair out of his face and stared curiously at James, who had quite and evil grin on his face.

"Today's the day boys- Snape's gonna get what he deserves now!" Sirius snorted in laughter and hi-fives James, then turned to Remus. He twisted his hands in his lap nervously, unsure wether to voice his opinion on what they were to do to Snape later. He was still very uneasy about the potion, and was still convinced that they should've made sure that the platoon was safe.

Sirius's gleeful face fell slightly when he saw Remus's hesitation.

"Rem, what's the matter? Don't you want to get back at that slimy git?" Remus's insides knotted up slightly. Should he make his best friends stop just for the sake of someone they despised? Would that make them angry at him? Softly, he decided to speak.

"I just... W-what if this really h-hurts him?" he stuttered, cursing himself for the embarrassing weakness of stuttering when nervous. James just rolled his eyes and slung an arm around Remus's shoulders.

"Rem, everything will be fine! Don't worry about it- nothing THAT bad will happen to the slithery snot-nose." he winked at Sirius, who threw back his head and laughed.

"That's a new one Jamsie- I quite like it! Slithery snot-nose... Brilliant!"

An irritated huff was audible from just outside the bed hangings, and Remus caught the sharp scent of annoyance and bitter jealousy coming from Peter Pettigrew, the chubby little mousy-haired boy the three of them shared a dormitory with. Remus felt a twinge of guilt; he felt bad for Peter- he was friendless, and it was mostly due to the fact of his utter lack of ability in any of his classes. In Potions, he sat alone, while Remus, Sirius, and James sat towards the back in a clump (he himself was also atrocious at Potions, but at least he had James and Sirius to help him.) The small boy was utterly inept at even the simplest potion, and regularly caused things to blow up. Just last week, when Slughorn was teaching the class a Sleeping Draught, he stirred three times counter-clockwise instead of two and added an extra mousetail, which caused his potion to spectacularly explode and rain down upon everyone in the classroom. Sirius took the brunt of the concoction since he had been standing right in front of Peter- his nose hair had started to grow incredibly fast and long until it was trailing behind him as he walked. Sirius and James had thought it was hysterical, but most of the girls in the class had not. And again when they were in Transfiguration yesterday (Sirius sat with Remus in that class- James had the unfortunate enough luck to be stuck with Peter) Professor McGonagall made the class practice a Scourgify charm. James lost both his eyebrows and a chunk of hair before the class was even over. Peter also had an aura of nervous cowardice which caused Remus to doubt why the boy had been placed in Gryffindor. He followed James and Sirius and him around regularly, which the other two found very irritating, while Remus felt nothing but pity. He knew just how disheartening it was to be alone and friendless.

James sighed in annoyance and opened the bed hangings, glaring at Peter, who stood just outside Remus's bed, his arms crossed over his chest. His angry expression faded and turned into one of a puppy that had been kicked by his master as James glared at him.

"What do you want Pettigrew? Do you MIND?" Remus winced at James's acidic tone. Technically, the three of them were at fault, since they were being quite loud and talking at five in the morning.

"I... I just wanted to ask you g-guys if you could be quiet." Peter whimpered, his eyes watery and mouth quivering.  
"It's five in the morning and I'm t-trying to s-sleep."

James just rolled his eyes and shut the hangings, turning back around to Remus and Sirius.

"Git..." he muttered, then smiled at his friends.

"Breakfast is in two hours lads- why don't we start getting ready now? We can be down extra early and ready." the wicked gleam in his eye matched Sirius's, and Remus couldn't help but smile at their enthusiasm. The three of them clambered out of the bed and Remus's joints groaned when they were hit with the early morning chill after being in a warm, cozy bed. The curtains were drawn around Peter's bed, and Sirius stuck his tongue out in the direction of the boy. Remus rummaged through his beaten trunk until he found his bag of toiletries and his school robes. He grabbed a clean pair of underwear, a new pair of wool socks, and a long-sleeved Muggle shirt to wear under his robes, since he was always cold in the drafty castle. Sirius yawned and threw robes over his shoulder, shrugging out of his Gryffindor pajamas and wandering to the enormous bathroom in just his red Snitch-covered boxers.

Remus ached to be able to walk around the way Sirius was able to- to be able to wear short-sleeved shirts and not feel self-conscious or worry about revealing his scars. He wished he had a normal, healthy looking body like Sirius or James, tanned and strong with young boy muscles. Remus was skinnier than everyone he'd ever seen, with knobby knees and scrawny arms and skinny fingers. He was stronger than James and Sirius put together, yes, but that came with the wiry muscles and long planes and feral ropy strength of a werewolf. He sighed and picked up all his robes, following Sirius into the bathroom. One of the showers in the corner was already running, and Remus could see Sirius's bare feet and hear him singing "Wish Upon A Warlock" under his breath. He laughed softly and stepped into the shower next to Sirius, hanging his clothes over the door so he could just change in the shower. He turned the water on and sighed as the warmness sunk into his sore bones. The deep ache inside of his muscles and bones caused his stomach to roll, since it meant that the moon was looming closer and closer over his head. He brushed his fingers lightly over the red and stretched wound on his abdomen, so tenderly and dutifully healed under Madame Pomfrey's gentle care. Another moon like the last and he would be bedridden for almost a full week. He was hoping that the wolf would be somewhat calmer since he had had one transformation already in the Shrieking Shack, but there was no way to know for sure. Remus bit his lip and tried to squish the anxiety that welled up within him when he thought of his next transformation.

'Focus on the present.' he chanted in his head. 'Focus on the present.'

"You okay in there Rem?" Sirius asked from beside him quizzically, and Remus realized that he had said that last one out loud. He shook his head to clear and shut the water off, reaching for the thick fluffy Hogwarts towel neatly folded on a shelf above his head.

"Yeah Sirius, sorry. Just arguing to myself I guess."

Sirius 'Mmmmhmm'ed in agreement.

"Well, I hope you win Rem. I find it awful hard to argue with my common sense sometimes. My prank-sense usually overpowers him." Remus snorted- Sirius's common sense hardly existed at all, and when it did decide to make itself known, there was usually a big teasing in store from James.

Shivering as he dried himself off, Remus quickly shimmied into his underwear and pants, and yanked his black shirt over his head. He opened the door at the same time Sirius was getting out, shaking his black hair like a dog. Another shower could be heard going, and Sirius laughed as he saw James feet moving around as if he was dancing in the shower.

Remus walked over to the large mirror in the bathroom and set his toiletry bag down on the edge of the sink, carefully taking out his toothbrush and toothpaste and meticulously brushing his teeth. Sirius ambled up next to him, his teeth being brushed for him, a brush dragging itself through his knotty black hair. Remus rolled his eyes at Sirius's laziness and continued brushing his own teeth, staring his reflection down in the mirror.

Big golden eyes gazed back at him, their pupils fringed by a light layer of wolf yellow, surrounded by dark lashes. There was slight smudges of dark bags under his eyes, and just the faintest hint of a scar curving around his right eye from the last transformation. His nose was very thin and slightly upturned at the end, a very light smattering of freckles dotted across his cheekbones. His lips were thin and chapped and bitten, his chin too pointy. A thick tawny and golden tangle of hair brushed his forehead and curled around his ears, and Remus ran through it with his fingers. He sunk a glimpse at Sirius, who was busy wincing as the brush tore through his hair too harshly. Sirius's face was aristocratic and filled, even when wincing, with a slight laughter and happiness. Even at the young age of eleven, Remus could tell that Sirius was going to be very good looking. His nose was straight and his eyebrows dark and expressive above lovely grey eyes that sparkled with mischief and laughter. His teeth were perfectly even, his smile large and inviting. His hair was beginning to dry, silky and straight and glossy. It was a little longer than Remus's but always perfectly straight, while Remus's usually curled around his neck and waved gently in places. Sirius yanked the brush out of his hair to get it to stop and nearly threw it on the floor, making a loud noise of anger. Remus giggled and Sirius looked up to meet his eyes, laughing and then pausing, focusing his eyes curiously on the side of Remus's head.

"Rem, why're your ears pointy at the tip? Mine are all boring and round." he brushed his hair away to show Remus his perfectly normal, human ears. Remus blanched and his skin went cold. Would Sirius read too deep into it and start to wonder? He turned his head to the side to stare at his ears, which were slim and delicately tapering to a pointy tip. They moved like a wolfs would- flicking back when he was angry or upset, twitching when he heard loud noises, and his hearing was more than ten times better than Sirius's.

Remus swallowed quickly and tried to conjure up a convincing lie.

"We think there may have been Veela on my dads side." he say lightly, breathing an inner sigh of relief. The Veela lie would also cover the perpetual paleness of his skin. Sirius screwed up his eyebrows in concentration.

"They think that about my cousin Narcissa as well. Every single person in my family and immediate family has either black or dark brown hair, and grey or light blue eyes. Narcissa has hair so blonde its almost white and really dark blue eyes. I dyed it once with my mums nail polish." Sirius looks very smug and proud of his accomplishments.

"Stupid bint decided she was going to make fun of my new pajamas. They were brilliant by the way- my Uncle Alphard had just gotten them for me. Green with a pattern of little dragons that moved when you were wearing them... Anyway, she made fun of me and later when she was taking a shower, I poured the nail polish into her shampoo bottle. She was stuck with magenta hair for almost three days because Mum's nail polish is made with kneazle spit so it doesn't wear off. It was lovely."

It amazed Remus how Sirius could just go off on an incredibly long tangent like that, and end on a completely different subject than the one he had begun. He supposed he should be grateful for it- it had just saved him from almost a discovery.

* * *

Before

Before he knew it, Remus was being dragged down to the great hall. James and Sirius seemed to perk up with a new energy as they thought of the task they had head of them for the morning. They took great delight in linking their arms with his and frog-marching him down to the Gryffindor table, much to Remus' embarrassment. Apart from two fifth-year Hufflepuff girls and a lone Ravenclaw 3rd year, the hall was empty. Remus bit his lip, eyes darting nervously between the other two boys.

"H... How are we g...going to give S...Snape the potion?" He stuttered out, eyes flickering towards the empty Slytherin table. Perhaps he was getting cold feet, but suddenly the prank did not seem like a good idea at all. What if they were caught?

He could be expelled. Dumbledore had sacrificed a lot to allow him to attend. He would be breaking the Headmaster's trust! However, at the same time, he did not want to cause an argument between himself and the boys, who were the only friends he had ever had...

"Easy as cake." Sirius snorted, leaning back on the bench, dark hair flopping into his eyes.

"James'll create a distraction, and I'll come up from behind and tip it into Slimy-Snakey-Snape's goblet while he's not looking."

"_Slimey-Snakey._.. bloody hell, Sirius! How do you keep making up these stupid nicknames?" James chortled.

"Easy. _Slithering-Smelly-Slimeball-Snape. Slobbering-Salivating-Sardonic-Sissy-Snape. Scandalous-Schlerotic-Satirical-Senile-Snape. Stupid-Septic-Slimy-Slippery-Snivvely-Snape. Sadistic-Spiteful..."_

_"_Alright! Alright! Enough! Hey; arm wrestle!" James laughed, snickering as he rolled up his sleeves. Remus rolled his eyes, but could not help the smile that touched his lips. Sirius certainly had a way with words, however annoying he was.

Staring down at the empty benches (breakfast had not yet been served), he glanced up at the head table. Professors Sprout and Kettleburn, the only teachers awake, were deep in conversation about how to remove a ghoul from the fifth floor, and were hardly paying any attention to the students. However, Remus knew that, as soon as McGonagall was awake, the task to slip Snape the potion was going to become doubly difficult.

"What sort of diversion do you have in mind?" Remus murmured softly. James and Sirius, who had been arm wrestling, paused, glancing up at him. In that moment, Sirius took the opportunity to slam James' knuckles into the table.

"OUCH! You git! My arm's not supposed to bend that way! That wasn't fair!"

"It was so! Don't be such a sore loser!" Sirius snorted, brushing a strand of hair out of his eyes and ducking slightly as James tried to hit him over the head with his shoe.

Remus groaned softly, running his fingers through his hair.

"I said: what sort of diversion do you have int mind?" He repeated, however was drowned out by their cheers of happiness as the breakfast dishes appeared on the bench in front of them. Although he tried to keep his attention on getting an answer from the two boys, Remus could not help but find his nose wandering towards the mouth-watering scent of bacon. Sirius and James were already stuffing their faces. He bit back a growl of annoyance.

"For goodness sake! Diversion! Distraction! What do you have in mind?" He hissed, smacking James lightly on the shoulder to attract the boy's attention.

James' face fell.

"... Er... well...?"

Remus felt like punching something.

"You don't have anything in mind, do you?" He sighed. James grinned sheepishly.

"I was just going to go with the flow, you know? I'll think of something."

"Oh! I've got an idea!" Sirius piped up. "What if we were to set off a heap of smoke or something? So the teacher's couldn't see us, and Snape couldn't see us when we drop the potion in his drink?"

"Er, mate, how would we be able to put the potion in his goblet, if we can't see it ourselves?"

The three boys paused, thinking, before a high-pitched voice interrupted them, making theme all jump violently.

"W... what someone wandered over there... like... to chase a piece of paper that's been blown away? And then went up behind Snape, and when the smoke goes off, slips the potion in?"

It was Peter Pettigrew. Remus felt a snarl rise precariously up in his throat. How dare the little rat eavesdrop on them! However, at the same time, he had to admit that it was a good idea. A Gryffindor wandering over to the Slytherin side of the hall was automatically seen as suspicious.

"But what are we going to do about the piece of wayward paper?" James murmured, scratching his chin.

Remus felt a flash of anger run through him. He accepted the rat so easily? A quick glance at Sirius revealed that the aristocratic boy was also not as pleased about Peter's presence either.

"Just levitate it." Remus muttered, before piling his plate with some bacon, eggs and sausages.

"Where are we going to get smoke from?" Sirius asked brightly, his question dampered some by the piece of toast that had just been crammed into his mouth. Remus sighed. You would never think that the two of them were wizards from they way they acted...

"You guys are really unorganised, aren't you? Well, I know a smoke charm; it's used like the smoke machines in muggle parties, except, well, it's magic, and it flashes different colours."

"Cool! Wait... where did you learn that? It's not a spell we've covered in class." James grinned and pushed his glasses up his skinny nose. Remus sighed again, and it was the sigh of an ever patient teacher who noone ever listened to.

"I read." He then turned away from the boys and stabbed one of his sausages with his fork, placing it in his mouth and chewing slowly.

The moment the last student had filed into the hall, it began. James used a nifty _wingardium leviosa_ to levitate (accidentally, of course), some of Sirius notes across the classroom. The dark-haired boy had gone tearing across the room after them, however little notice had been payed to him, as the students chattered happily as they ate their breakfast. Then, as Sirius reached the other side of the hall and came to a stop near Snape's chair, James dropped the charm. Sirius snatched at the papers, making a show out of stuffing them into his pockets. Then, it was Remus' turn.

"_Fumigant Lucida!"_ He chanted softly, holding his wand underneath the table. With a loud crack and hiss, white smoke suddenly exploded around the room. The students screamed, coughed and choked, although some started laughing as the scentless, tasteless smoke started flicking different colours. Quickly tucking his wand away, Remus hoped that Sirius had managed to slip the potion into Snape's drink.

With a couple of loud bangs, the smoke dissappeared, leaving a few started students standing in random places, and plates of food scattered over the floor. Sirius scurried back into his seat, unnoticed, and flashed them a quick thumbs up. The boys shared a quick smile amongst themselves, before trying their best to appear innocent.

Flitwick the charms teacher, who had banished the smoke, glanced over a few of the older students, particularly the Prewitt twins, before shaking his head and seeming to let it slide. A few of the other teachers looked slightly annoyed, however with no evidence, they could not accuse any students of casting the charm.

Apart from a tinge of guilt, Remus felt pride and relief well up inside him.

He glanced over to the Slytherin table. Snape was sitting in the left corner, hair as greasy as ever, between Rosier and Malfoy, wrinkling his lips as he flicked on of Lucius Malfoy's long, blonde hairs from his breakfast.

Snape reached for his goblet.

Remus felt a sudden surge of fear. What if it hurt him? Should they have really done it?

Snape's lips touched the goblet.

Remus gritted his teeth, clenched his fists.

Snape took a long, deep drink.

Nothing happened.

Remus stared for a few moments, before letting out a sigh of relief. Snape had not keeled over dead; that was a good thing. But what if he had been poisoned? Remus felt a surge of panic, however Snape appeared perfectly fine, still eating his pancakes.

He shared a glance with James and Sirius, who looked as puzzled as him.

"Maybe the potion was just a dud, after all." James shrugged. Sirius sighed.

"Damn. I was hoping it would be something spectacular. Oh well. We'll figure something else out."

However, Remus realised, at that moment, that they certainly would not have to redo the prank. Snape's face was becoming spotty. Although James and Sirius could not see it, Remus, with his wolf eyes, could easily make out the horrible, hairy warts that were sprouting in random clumps over the Slytherin boy's face. A few of the other Slytherins started noticing, and started snickering. James and Sirius looked up, squinting.

"Are... Are they...?" Sirius suddenly snorted loudly, stuffing his fist into his mouth to stop himself from laughing. Within seconds, the entire hall seemed to have realised what was happening, and it rang with laughter. However, the potion's magic was not finished. With a loud CRACK, a pair of long, spiralled goat's horns appeared, poking out of Snape's hair. Then, his eyebrows grew, turning grey and bushy, and a few wisps of grey hair appeared on the boy's chin. His hands then morphed into cloven hooves.

Snape, noticing his predicament, let out a loud scream; which came out as a bellowing bleat. The hall roared with laughter.

Snape lunged from his seat, knocking pumpkin juice on Rosier and a bowl of cereal on Malfoy, and galloped from the great hall, his hooves clattering loudly on the stone.

It seemed that every student was laughing, their voices ringing through Remus' head.

Guilt.

He had never felt it so strongly before.

What they had done was wrong. It was not fun, to be laughed at, or bullied. Remus knew this. He had been subjected to prejudice all his life because of who... _what_... he was. And as he watched Snape stumble from the hall, he could not help but think, that this was the cruelest thing he had even done in his life, and it was not something that he could be proud of. He had betrayed Dumbledore, his mother, and the school. He had betrayed HIMSELF! He turned to glance at Sirius and James, however the two were laughing freely, with no regret over what they had just done.

Perhaps they were not the boys he had thought they were, after all.


End file.
